Stockholm Syndrome
by spongecake 2
Summary: A kidnapping. Sounded easy enough for the four Tekken Force soldiers. However, they had underestimated Ling Xiaoyu, and that doesn't help when you can't get along with your colleagues as well as being increasingly close to death. Read and review, please.
1. Hawk Squad 11

Stockholm Syndrome

**Stockholm Syndrome**

**A Tekken Fanfic By spongecake 2**

**Author's Note: I don't own Tekken, or Namco, or even very much at all. I had this idea after shovelling peanuts into my mouth and watching some crime documentary. Crime is a fascinating subject, particularly robbery. However, the subject of the documentary was kidnapping, and along the way it talked about Stockholm syndrome. It amazed me. Seriously. After looking on 'tin-ter'net' as it's called in Yorkshire to look at some interesting cases, I decided to use my remarkable brain and devilish handsomeness and other qualities of mine which don't exist to write a story based on it. And I did... to an extent. I haven't even started on the first chapter, so dear god, this thing could go anywhere, and I couldn't resist the temptation to make it humorous, though I think, in the right hands, it could be funny, though my humour can be pretty sick at times (Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Whatever it is, it's heading straight for the World Trade Centre. Oh, that Frankie Boyle. Ya ha ha!). This story is based around about the time of Tekken 4, and follows the mishaps of Tekken Force Hawk Squad 7, a band of four incompetents who turn out to make the stupidest mistakes of their sorry lives. I decided to do it in the Points of Views of characters just to see if I'm any good at first person story writing. Probably not, but hey ho, what are you going to do other than complain? Constructive criticism, favourable review and worshipping are all accepted, but don't worry, people who just love to complain. Whine, nitpick and nag me at your leisure. I'll be glad to ignore you to death if you do.**

Chapter 1 – Hawk Squad 11

22:47

**Heihachi's POV**

I enjoyed pestering the Owl Leader, Mr Drive. He searched through the Zaibatsu Tekken Force database for soldiers. This was a mission of great importance, and I wanted the best of the fighters. Along the way, he came along this document.

**TEKKEN FORCE**

**HAWK DIVISION**

**TEKKEN FORCE HAWK SQUAD 11**

Mr Drive sighed irritably. Hawk Squad 11 wasn't in itself a bad squad, but not one fighter other than three had stayed in that division for more than five missions, and the three who did were among the original Tekken Force, and cowards at that. The other one was a young punk who I wasn't really fond of. Though, I had to admit, they were good fighters. Well, three of them were. The other was the _easily _the best marksmen in the Hawk Division, and so could be practical.

"Open it." I told Mr Drive. He raised his eyebrows to me, but opened the file regardless.

**Captain Fritz Coster**

_**Codename – C**_

_**Age - 37**_

_**Ethnic Origin: German-born English Man.**_

_**Fighting Style – None, other than hand to hand assassination techniques. Otherwise, he relies heavily on guns of various kinds.**_

_**Height – 4' 2''**_

_**Weight – 12 stone 4 lbs**_

_**Appearance – Short. Stout. Goatee. Natural dark blonde. One blue eye, one brown (reasons unknown). Uniform is black denim trousers, a black leather full length trench coat, a bandolier and red bandanna.**_

Fritz. The first ever saboteur in the Hawk Division, and the only one still going. He was also the only person in the entire Tekken Force not to know a martial art. He was fabled for his marksmanship. Mr Drive and I had met him before. Fritz was extremely dangerous and awfully dark in personality. He was intelligent, yet cynical. He was a scary guy, but nowhere near as scary as Mr Drive. Though I refused to say it, I pissed myself whenever Mr Drive gets annoyed. He had a nasty sense of humour which I don't care to divulge in because it's a disturbing one. Though Fritz isn't far off. He had a manic grin, which is how the Cheshire Cat would grin if he was also a pyromaniac. We looked at the next member.

**Lieutenant William Wilson**

_**Codename – W**_

_**Age - 34**_

_**Ethnic Origin – Canadian**_

_**Fighting Style – Hitting people… hard.**_

_**Height – 6' 5''**_

_**Weight – 18 stone 6 lbs**_

_**Appearance – Bulky. Big. Eternal blank expression. Black hair. Green eyes. Uniform is black tuxedo and matching shoes.**_

Bill. I rolled my eyes, remembering the huge festering lump. He shared his intelligence with a lamppost, and even that would have difficultly losing to him in a pub quiz. Bill's bulk obviously didn't go to his head. We decided to look at the others in the squad.

**Corporal Benni Julius**

_**Codename – J**_

_**Age - 27**_

_**Ethnic Origin – Italian, with a Spanish mother**_

_**Fighting Style – Specialised Self Defence Practises heavily influenced and based on Ancient Roman Gladius Techniques and Philippine Kali Stick Fighting, with two 12" assassin's blades.**_

_**Height – 5' 5''**_

_**Weight – 11 stone 4 lbs**_

_**Appearance – Fatigued looking face. Scowls most of the time. Shoulder length unruly light brown hair. Blue eyes. Uniform is leather jacket and black shirt, with black trousers and hefty army boots.**_

His last mission was Benni's fourteenth mission, and seventh mission with Squad 11. He was not a nice fellow. Cold, cruel, and insulting. He had a good life in Italy but had it all taken away from him by the G Corporation. Well, I thought, this mission suits him perfectly. A raid on the G Corporation's most important of projects would indeed be a confidence booster in him. I told Mr Drive to look to the last member of this troupe.

**Private ****Takeshi Sakari**

_**Codename – S**_

_**Age – 19**_

_**Ethnic Origin – Japanese, with Korean ancestry**_

_**Fighting Style – Mixtures and variations on Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do and Samurai Hand-to-Hand techniques.**_

_**Height – 5' 3''**_

_**Weight – 10 stone 7 lbs**_

_**Appearance – Young, fresh faced. Short dark brown hair with black streaks. Hazel eyes. Uniform is beige jacket and matching hakama with black shirt and sandals.**_

Takeshi. Mr Drive didn't like him much, but he certainly respected him. He was a lot more preferable than his colleagues. He's a keen fighter. Only joined the Tekken Force so he would be invited to the King of the Iron Fist by impressing me. Ambitious, but just, a combination that I didn't like. However, the boy was young, and he had much to learn. This would be his third mission. Mr Drive pulled out a clipboard and ticked it.

"Another squad on the list." He murmured. We continued the search into the night.

22:52

**Benni's POV**

The phone rang. Unfortunately, I was in no mood to get up yet. I had spent the previous night getting pissed out my head, and I didn't need some bastard having the phone ringing in my bloody ear. I waited for Liz to get it, then remembered she had left with Fritz at the pub. My sister was never in, which was a shame. She hanged out with Fritz a lot. I'd almost say she had a thing for him. Then I remembered. She _did _have a thing for him. I forced myself up. I looked around the room. Nothing but pitch black, with a blue light coming through the curtains of the apartment that could be easily compared to a cupboard. The dim light gave an outline to the otherwise invisible items of my apartment, which mainly consisted of empty beer cans, bullet casings, a stupidly large collection of knives and half eaten sandwiches. I only just managed to find the phone. The apartment was clearly designed for a young student with very little time to spend. Not a grown man, weighing down the entire place down with crap. I placed the plastic thing to my ear. I muttered something I barely understood. It sounded something like hello; though for all I knew it could have been "Muffin."

"What?" Came the reply. I snapped to attention automatically. Mr Drive was the leader of the Tekken Force, and a ruthless one at that.

"Mr Drive, sir!" I said. Mr Drive chuckled.

"You've been drinking… again." He said. He had of malice in his voice. "Feeling bad?"

"Yes sir." I replied. Suddenly, I heard what sounded like an extremely loud foghorn. I clutched my ear. Mr Drive chuckled again.

"This might cheer you up a bit." He said. "Get the others in your Squad 11. At zero hours, you raid the G Corporation Main Building." At this, my jaw dropped. The G Corporation had destroyed my life 16 years ago. I'd be happy to return the favour. Then I noticed the time.

"But… it's twenty two hundred and fifty two hours." I said.

"Then you better get on with it, then." With that, Mr Drive hung up. I pulled out my two favourite knives out of a small drawer, and leapt out of the window. I skilfully landed on the roof of another building. All I had to do was leg it across downtown Tokyo, get Fritz and Bill, drag them to the Zaibatsu, and pick up Takeshi along the way. Sounded like a plan.

**Liz's POV**

It was the frantic knocking at the door that woke me up. I looked to the door. I was about to answer it, then remembered my absence of clothes. No way was I going to answer the door to some guy only so he could ogle at me. Luckily, Fritz woke up too.

"I'll get it. Stay there. They won't see you." He murmured. Wasted out of his skull, has completely killed his last few remaining brain cells, and still a gentleman. He picked up some pants, and, after putting them on, answered the door.

"Captain Coster." Came my brother's voice. "So, did you and _Alizee_…" Here, he emphasized heavily on my real name. He knew it would irritate me. Why the hell did Dad give me a _French _name anyway? "… have fun when you left?" Fritz looked shocked.

"I'm not a torrid freak. What gave you that sick idea?" He asked nobly.

"One, you've got a hard on, and two, you're wearing her panties." He said. Fritz looked down. He blushed heavily.

"It was dark." He said quietly.

"Get some clothes on, Fritz. We've got 'til midnight to get to the Zaibatsu." Benni said. Fritz ran over to the bed, and gave me a warm kiss on the lips.

"I'll be back." He muttered. He grabbed his stuff, and walked out of the door.

**Fritz's POV**

It was after I walked out of the door I noticed I was still wearing Liz's panties, and was carrying my clothes in a bundle.

"Keep 'em." Benni said. "They suit you." I was about to make a sarcastic reply but realised something. Did Benni just… make a joke? I had to ask.

"Are you in a good mood?" I asked, pulled my shirt over my head. Benni smiled.

"What gives you that idea?" He enquired.

"You're _never_ in a good mood." I said, before hopping on one leg to put my denim trousers on. "Is it…" Though I had guessed already, I had to be sure.

"The G Corporation…" Benni punched his fist. "… will burn to the ground." I was genuinely scared by Benni. If he was happy, it was not because of a good reason…

**Benni's POV**

It wasn't long before Fritz and I were at Bill's house. It had changed since I had been there last. Last time I came, about a week ago, it had a door. I knocked on the wall. Bill came out. Typical of him, he just had to have a door shaped piece of wood on his neck.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking down us.

"Oi, whale man!" Fritz said. "Gotta go. Mission. Big place go bang." He sounded heavily patronising, but Bill had difficultly keeping up. I was sure that Bill thought that whale man was actually his name.

**Bill's POV**

Err…

**Benni's POV**

Bill shrugged his shoulders and decided to come with us. I was genuinely glad. I enjoyed having the big man around. Mainly due to security. He had the look that would make rhinos turn away and cower. Mind you, Fritz wasn't far behind, in terms of fierce looking. Bill was just a walking planet, yet Fritz had a glint. One that sat in his eye comfortably. I refused to admit it, but he scared me. A lot.

**Fritz's POV**

We managed to get to a small house, made entirely out of wood. It was made in the style of the Golden Pavilion, which is something I could never understand. How could _anyone_ live in that sort of house? We never got this crap in Europe. I hated Takeshi's house out of its pure stupidity. The bloody thing looked like it would fall apart at anytime I could choose. It was pointless, I hated it, and when the day that it burns to the ground comes around, I will happily dance around the wreckage laughing manically. I walked over to the door, after managing to get past the bloody garden. Takeshi claims it's only a few metres, yet I'm sure there's enough land there to recreate Luxembourg, and Holland. When I got to the door, I was in no mood to keep the house up. I was happy, with Liz, and now I have to be dragged to some research facility in Hokkaido, so trudging across a bloody Zen Garden with enough cherry blossom trees to cover, and feed, the whole of Africa. I clicked my fingers, pointed to the door, and Bill kindly prised it in half.

"HEY! TAKKY!" Benni shouted. Takeshi came out of the now ruined doorway.

"I was meditating. You could just have knocked." He said. His short hair contacted his face as the wind picked up. "And don't call me Takky." He added. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, you are tacky. You're hakama looks like it is made entirely out of mud. You're hair looks like a bird has nested in it." I said.

"It was only there for an hour." He replied. I was in no mood to argue.

"Bill. Pick up Nancy boy." I said. Bill looked confused. "Takky." Bill's face didn't change. "Him." Bill plucked Benni off his feet by the scruff of the neck. I pointed to Takeshi. Bill dropped Benni and picked up Takeshi by the hair. Takeshi's complaints were ignored as he pulled him to the Mishima Zaibatsu.


	2. The Raid

**Well, another chapter. I like pumping chapters out at a time, though now they won't come out as quickly because of a load of coursework I have to do (Shit I haven't done any!) Thanks to Razer Athane for pointing out the errors in chapter 1, though I'm quite lazy so I tend to miss things. This chapter's less jokes and more to drive the storyline on into the never-ending spiral of failures it'll become, knowing my reputation for half-arsed-ness... I think that's a word...**

Chapter 2 – The Raid

00:00

**Benni's POV**

I looked up from my AK-47 to my comrades. For years I had wanted to take the G Corporation apart brick by brick, and these would be the people I'd do it with. I never would have thought. I had images of it happening, but being the helicopter, waiting for the order to jump, was not what I had expected, or prepared for.

"So…" Takeshi started. "What have you got against the G Corporation?" He asked.

_It was cold. Colder than usual. Naples was very cold at this time of year, but there was a new kind of coldness. Not so much in the air, but the minds of Mum and Dad. Liz and I got home from school. I was only thirteen. I wasn't ready for what would happen next. Dad stared out of the window all day. Soon, I heard a helicopter noise. Mum rushed me and Liz to the door. I looked to my younger sister. She was seven, and she looked terrified. She didn't know what was happening, and she never would. Mum knelt down._

"_Benni." She said, rubbing my shoulder. "You know I've been saying me and Dad soon be gone." I nodded. "Well, it's that time." She pulled out a satchel and presented it to me. "In this is a debit card. The PIN is 4434. The account has 250,000 euros." Her eyes welled with tears. "Please. Go. Don't stay in Italy. Get as far as you can. Buy a house, just get away. And don't tell Alizee." She said. "As far as she must know, she was always taken care of by you." She gave me a locket. "Remember us forever. Never renounce. No matter what." With that, she shooed us away quickly. I got Liz into some bushes so she wouldn't see. I told her to close her ears. I stood and watched. It was the biggest mistake of my life. The yellow flames bursting through the cold black blanket of night haunted me. The sight made me silently panic. It was the morning after that I decided to search the building for any life. I was to be disappointed. All I found was a small rodent… and two charred bodies. For the first and last time that I can remember, I cried. I fell to my knees. Soon, I heard my sister shouting my name. Before I left, I picked up two small assassin's blades that my mother wielded. She had taught me the fighting style that flows through my blood. I made a silent promise._

_To…_

"… burn the G Corporation to the ground." I finished. Takeshi looked thoughtful. Fritz looked unruffled.

"Why can't you tell Liz?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Mum and Dad were putting me at risk by telling me. They only told me about the G Corporation and what was going to happen because I was to take care of Liz." He said. "I owe my lives to them. The very least is make sure Liz doesn't end up like them."

"But… why?" Takeshi asked. "What were the G Corporation interested in?"

"My dad was a researcher. They're a bio-tech firm, and he had some whimsical formula that would prove in valuable for one of their projects." I replied. "Genocell, or something like that. It doesn't matter." I loaded my gun. "One way or another, the G Corporation is toast." Fritz smiled, and not a kind of 'The world is a beautiful day, so let's all frolic through flowers' smile but a kind of 'I eat babies and throw cats at old people on Sunday' smile. It scared me, though Fritz was just a scary person. It rubbed off on Liz a bit, I could tell. When I called her Alizee, she gave me a look of pure evil. I didn't like to say I was scared, but… I was. Suddenly, I heard what I was waiting for.

"Squad 11. Thirteenth floor." The tannoy said.

"Ooh, unlucky." Fritz mumbled sarcastically. I prepared myself, and jumped.

**Takeshi's POV**

Benni was the first to jump. Fritz followed him. I decided to leap out too. The sky was dark. Then I came into contact with the window. I didn't mind making to much noise. The building had mostly been cleared out, so there was no threat. That we knew of…

**Bill's POV**

Urrrr… I jumped. I landed. On face.

Ow.

**Fritz's POV**

Something was wrong. I knew that from the fact that everything had gone to plan so far. I mean, this is a multibillion company, so surely somebody would be trying to stop us. I mean, the cameras had gone off, but that was it. Then an Owl soldier walked in. Owls were the highest ranking soldiers in the Tekken Force, and apparently we were supposed to do as they said, but considering some of them weren't that intelligent, I tended not to trust them. They led the way, bringing a load of Squadrons, and seeing no other option, we followed him. Benni, even with the helmet on, looked ready to kill anyone who talked to him. He had his firearm slung across his shoulder, his blades shining in the dark like knife shaped moons.

"I want to use what my mother died alongside. It's only honourable." He said. I nodded in agreement. Suddenly, we heard a loud thud. With a sense of foreboding, we peered around the person in front of us. The whole line had stopped, and the Owl was looking through the door. There were some more thuds, even a scream, and then silence. I looked to Takeshi. He shrugged his shoulders. I looked back to the front; the Owl had closed the door and stepped back.

"Prime weaponry." He said. He cocked his rifle, and pointed it to the door. Takeshi, Bill and I did the same. Everyone stood back. Then, I looked behind me. The knob of the door to the side of us was wiggling from side to side. I had seen too many Alfred Hitchcock films to let this go unnoticed, or indeed sleep at night.

"Sir…" I said.

"Not now, Captain." The Owl said.

"But I really…" I tried, but gave up. I pressed my body against the door. I felt a push. Just a little one. Whoever was trying to get through decided to try harder. I was almost sent flying. Jesus, who was this? Bill's mother? Takeshi looked to me.

"What are you doing?" He hissed. Then he noticed. He joined me. Bill didn't have anything else to do, and stood alongside us. Benni walked over. He too decided to close the door. No change. Whatever was on the other side wasn't giving up. Light shone through an opening in the door. Now the Owl noticed.

"What are you four do… ing…" He realised, and ordered his soldiers to turn around too. He raised the sniper scope to his eye, preparing to fire.

"We'll step back and you open fire, ok?" I said. The Owl nodded.

"Do it." He said. I nodded to Takeshi, and Benni, and Bill. We jumped out of the way.

**Kazuya's POV**

The Tekken Force soldiers moved aside, waiting for me to burst through. I knew the tactics of the force. My father was raiding the G Corporation, the place I had been slowly feeling myself, and my power, growing back, and my father has to send a bloody Tekken Force. However, I decided not to disappoint them. I wanted to send a message back to Heihachi. I stepped into the light. The bullets ripped through the air, but I just got down to the floor and rolled to the squadron. I kicked the Owl soldier at the front back for miles. He flew across the room. I gave him and his foolish associates a ferocious look. They fled, like the cowards they are. Let them, I say. Give Heihachi a message he won't forget. I turned around to get out of the now burning laboratory, to find another Hawk soldier. He had taken off his helmet, and took up a fighting stance I recognised, but I couldn't remember where. His assassin's blades where tucked into his hands, and he looked vicious. I wasn't scared. On the contrary, I laughed at him.

"Do you know who I am?" I sneered. The Hawk didn't change whatsoever. I was slightly surprised. I was giving him my most evil stare, and he didn't move, and I reserved that stare for tigers, bison and tramps. I noticed the four behind him. They were edging back. I smiled. One, the captain, fell over the gorilla look-alike and rolled onto his face.

"No." The Hawk who stood before answered my question at last. "But if I have to get past you to destroy the lab, you better get out the way." His voice sparked a memory. I finally remembered the stance. I smiled.

"So. You're the Julius boy." I said. "Rumour had it that you were dead." A flicker of change spread across his face, but only momentarily. I had a link. A weakness to him. "You _do_ look like your mother." I decided not to put the moment off any longer. I took up my fighting stance. "Can you fight like her?"

"Let's see what the G Corporation can offer." He said, and we started. I tried to punch, but he just jabbed me with the hilt of his knife. I was surprised. I expected an angered opponent to do attacks out of hatred and make mistakes, yet he concentrating on fighting. I leapt into the air, kicking out with my right leg, and spun around onto the floor. For the first attack, it caught him back, but not much. He even had the nerve to stab my leg. I stood up, the wound not large but enough to hurt. I staggered back. An explosion here and there and the other three looked terrified. I applauded the Julius child.

"Many brave men have fought me, and none have managed to get so far with stopping me. Well done." I said. "Well done, but if only your friends were so brave." I pointed to the others. One wasn't so much scared as blank. The youngest was looking around in panic, and the captain was edging back to the door.

"Benni. Come on!" The youngest said. The Julius child didn't listen. "Benni!"

"Let's go." The captain said. The Julius child looked back. He looked back to me.

"This isn't over." He said. I smiled.

"On the contrary…" I started. I didn't want to lose my prey. "… this is the beginning!" I tried to leap to kill, but the wound had made me falter. The Julius child and his friends ran off. I got up, and pursued them. They ran off. I pressed the intercom onto the wall. A vault door started to shrink.

"MOVE, YOU FAT MORONS!" The captain shouted. The Julius child and the youngest were first to get through. Then the gorilla… and then the door closed. The captain panicked. "SHIT!" He pounded onto the door as I closed in. "Letmeoutletmeoutletmeout!" I got closer than ever. "What do you mean, you can't find the switch! IT'S NEXT TO THE BLOODY THING!" He shouted. He sounded desperate. I was about to grab him, when the door opened again. He pushed through, and the door closed. I knew I would have to fight the Julius child again, and then I'll wipe out the Julius family.

**Fritz's POV**

It wasn't professional, it wasn't honourable, and it certainly wasn't brave, but I didn't think of these things as I sprinted out of the building, with the rest of my squad following me and shit pouring out my trouser leg. I stopped as soon as we were out. I turned to Benni, who didn't look happy. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to.

"I think… we better… get back… to… the Zai… bat… su." I said. Oddly, I noticed that I was losing breath as I spoke. So I decided to stop speaking all together. Then I realised why I was scared right now. I mean, I'll admit it, the man in there scared me, but it was only now I realise that Mr Drive was still back at the Zaibatsu, and he wouldn't be too happy.


	3. The Kidnap

**Luckily, my coursework isn't due 'til... some day... so, I decided to spend my time writing. So, read and review, is all I can say.**

Chapter 3 – The Kidnap

03:14

**Mr Drive's POV**

Heihachi had heard about the failure of the attack. He wasn't pleased, and I was malcontent. I hated failure. Success was my backbone. That, and expresso coffee. I smiled as the Owl soldier who led the charge knelt there. His eyes almost watered. I had that effect on people. Sure, Fritz freaked people out, yet nobody else had the dominance I had. It may sound a little on the brash side, but if you have a quandary with it then I have two words to say, and the second is 'you'.

"So… what happened?" I asked. The Owl looked terrified.

"We were attacked by a large man who was skilled in Mishima Martial Arts." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"Any casualties?" I asked. The Owl nodded.

"J took the man head on." He said. I smiled. Benni was always fuelled by anger.

"So, you failed to take down Kazuya." I said. The Owl nodded. "You may leave. You have done well." I finished. Heihachi looked at me as if I had gone mad. The Owl looked as if he had won the lottery. He walked away, a relieved smile on his face. His smile soon ended. He dropped to the floor, and I put my smoking pistol away. I looked to the others. "A message to any other cowards!" I shouted. Then C, W, J and S walked in. "Speak of the devil!" I said, pointing to them. "I hear you took Kazuya head on!"

"And gave him a beating. If _some people…_" Here, J looked dangerously to C, W and S. "… hadn't run away, I would have killed 'im." S finished. I smiled evilly. I cocked my pistol, pointing it to the cowards.

"You _beat _Kazuya?" Heihachi's voice boomed. S nodded nervously. He gestured to them. I put my pistol away, disappointed at the absence of prey. I turned to the other Tekken Force soldiers. I gestured to them to leave. I followed Heihachi and Squadron 11 to his office. Heihachi hummed to himself when he got to the office. It was huge. Absolutely huge. It was about the size of my kitchen, and I had a big kitchen. Heihachi gestured to four chairs. "Sit." He said. Me, W, S, and J sat down. C ended up squatting, which caused him to fall over. "I'm starting another King of Iron Fist Tournament to draw out my descendants, Kazuya and Jin. Kazuya will jump at the chance to get me…" Heihachi said, turning to the Squadron 11. "… but Jin is more restrained. I need something else to get him here. Some bait." He smiled dangerously. "My adoptive granddaughter recently got an anonymous e-mail, probably from Jin, warning her not to trust me. He cares for her. What a tragedy if she were to be…" Pausing, he nodded to the Squad.

"...kidnapped." He hissed. Fritz, Takeshi, Benni and Bill looked to each other. Heihachi threw a small piece of paper to them. "Keep her for a while, and then get her into the tournament somehow. The rest is up to you." The piece of paper probably had her address on it. "Do _not, _under any circumstances, tell her who you work for. Now go. Quickly. You have five days until the tournament starts. She better be there." With that, Hawk Squad 11 left. I turned to Heihachi. He turned to me, looking expectedly.

"Have you gone insane, sir?" I asked him. He smiled.

"Maybe, but even if they fail, Jin will come." He said. "Even if they fail to so much as kidnap her, Jin will come back to protect her…" He smiled. "… and I'll be ready."

**Fritz's POV**

I walked out of Benni's apartment door. Takeshi, Benni and Bill stood there.

"How'd she take it?" Benni asked.

"Better than I expected." I replied. She had, seeing as she wrapped me in a bear hug when she saw me. I had told her she wouldn't see me for a few days, and she just bit my ear. I thought _I _was supposed to do that. "Let's go." I said.

It wasn't long before we came up to the house that was addressed on the piece of paper. It wasn't too far from the Zaibatsu, which wasn't surprising seeing as she was Heihachi's adoptive granddaughter. I nodded to the others, and we all put handkerchiefs over our mouths to obscure our faces. We walked to the door. I pulled out my pistol. I nodded to Benni, who kicked the door open. I noticed a huge figure asleep on the floor. _No way _was this Ling Xiaoyu, adoptive daughter of Heihachi Mishima. I looked to Bill.

"I didn't know you had a brother." I said sarcastically. Bill looked confused.

"_I _didn't know I had a brother." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"That was a joke." I said. Bill still looked gormless. "You don't have a brother." As Bill burst into tears over his non-existent brother, I turned to the huge figure in the house. I nervously looked to Takeshi. "Takky. Poke it."

"What?" He said. He didn't look happy.

"Do it." I said, pointing the pistol to his head. He walked over. He looked closely. He came back. He looked surprised. "Well?" I asked.

"It's a panda." He said. There was a loud creaking sound, followed by the thud of a paw hitting the floor. "And I think we've just woke it up." Takeshi finished.

**Ling Xiaoyu's POV**

The first I heard of it was Panda waking up. I thought she had just waked up to go for a walk, so I kept sleeping. Then I heard a gruff and panicked voice.

"SHIT!"

I bolted upright. I considered running downstairs, but then looked to my pyjamas. Not suitable fight wear. I ran over to the chest of drawers, put on some trousers and a gym shirt quickly and ran downstairs. Four masked men were falling over each other, Panda looming over them dangerously. I would have laughed if I wasn't worried by the fact these men had guns.

One of them put his pistol into his holster and punched Panda in the head. Panda fell back slightly, but maintained a standing position. She uppercutted the man out of the way. Good old Panda, I thought. She hadn't lost her post as my bodyguard and best friend. The next man did an impressive looking kick, but Panda blocked it and smashed him out of the way. The next man was barely half the size of Panda. She clawed for him, but he leapt in between her legs. She turned around to confront him. She punched to the floor, but he pulled himself onto her arm, and jabbed his thumb into her neck. Panda roared in pain, before batting away the man.

She turned around. There was one more man, whose size suggested that he was the cross between a wrestler and a rhino. Panda stood to full height, and this guy was still about the same height. He pushed Panda over. Panda collapsed to the floor, landing next to the small man. He placed his hand over his hand over her eyes and placed his hand on her throat. Panda slowly closed its eyes reluctantly, and remained motionless. The man panted with exhaustion and relief. He turned to his friends.

"Good thing they pass out after loss of air, huh?" He said. The others just sighed. Then they noticed me. The small man yelped, dropped his pistol, and it fired, smashing the bullet into a random table leg. He picked up the pistol and pointed it to me. "You're coming with us." He said, his German accent ringing. I crossed my arms.

"You're from the Mishima Zaibatsu, aren't you?" I said.

"No." He said. If he was lying, he was convincing me, certainly. "We're from the Ford Motor Company." Here, the trust I had faded away.

"What?" I said. I assumed his statement was out of sarcasm.

"You heard me." He said. He sounded so truthful, though I wasn't fooled.

"No way. Tell me, why does Heihachi, my granddad, want to kidnap me?" I suddenly realised. "It's Jin, isn't it? He's trying to get to Jin, isn't he?"

"Just shut up, and get over here. You're going to see Henry Ford whether or not you think otherwise." He said. I decided to play along, to see flaws in reasoning.

"What does he want with me?" I asked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know what the Ford Motor Company wants with you? I'm a mercenary." The man said. Damn, he was good, but I wasn't breaking. I dropped playing along, and would just force him to say so.

"What does _Heihachi_ want with me?" I asked. The man snorted.

"Whatever you want to think, the Ford Motor Company wants you. Does it matter, so long as you get to Mr Ford's establishment?" He said. Then I remembered the situation.

"I don't care who's kidnapping me, but I'm not leaving." I said, taking up my fighting stance. I expected a fight. What I got was a bullet in the shin. I fell to the floor. One of the others caught me. That bullet convinced me. No Tekken Force Soldier in their right mind would shoot anybody who was close with Heihachi. I thought about fighting, but realised it was pointless if I was wounded. "Fine." I rasped, my voice echoing pain. The kidnapper who caught me helped me into a small white van. It was, typically, a Ford. He got in with me. The doors all closed, and the journey started.

**Benni's POV**

I closed the back doors and pulled Fritz out of ear's reach.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I hissed. "First you tell her we work for the Ford Motor Company, and then you shoot her!" Fritz just nodded.

"It was impulsiveness. It just came to my head." He said. I sighed, and leapt into the van. I turned on the ignition, and we were off.

**Takeshi's POV**

Here I was, sitting in the back, with a young girl who I had just helped to kidnap. And not only that, but she was bleeding heavily. I ripped the sleeve of my jumper off, and used it to bandage the wound. She muttered something that may have been a thank you. I tried not to talk to her, but I had to. It was my upbringing to help the needy, and she seemed needy, caught up in a whirlwind of confusion, and Fritz was just… brutal.

"I want to apologise." I said to the girl.

"Then let me out." She replied coldly.

"I was referring to C." I said, naming Fritz by his codename, to be on the safe side. "His attitude was just… wrong." She started to wear a ghost of a smile. "Though, I must say, I don't want to do this. Henry Ford can be quite forceful." I said. She sighed.

"Is C your leader?" She asked. I nodded. "Who are you, then?"

"I'm S. There's also W, the big man, and the other is J." I answered. She smiled fully at last. It was a warm smile. I almost forgot we were kidnapping her.

"I hope this doesn't offend you, but S as a name suits you." She said. I smiled at the comment. She had a sense of humour. I could get used to her.

"Thank you." I said. We started to talk, about nothing special. She could've been using this as a window to find out who I was and get out, but I didn't care. She made me happy.


	4. A Random Encounter

**A slightly shorter chapter this time around. I haven't had a great deal of time. Despite this, I like this chapter. Short, quick and humourous.**

Chapter 4 – A Random Encounter

Three Days Later

23:09

**Benni's POV**

I tried not to talk to her. I seriously didn't. But when it was my turn to sit in the back with her, I ended talking for hours. Apparently, Takeshi was quite friendly with her, Bill was just unhelpful and gormless towards her, and Fritz was silent. I decided to try and take the same kind of cold approach to the task.

"So. You're J, then?" She asked as I hopped in. I decided to nod. "So you're the depressing one." She sounded like a school girl. I turned to her.

"You do know you're being kidnapped?" I asked. She didn't change her expression.

"Yeah, but you have to keep optimistic about these things." She said, almost as if she was… enjoying herself. I scowled. I was expecting her to try and escape.

"What are you planning?" I asked cautiously.

"To get you to talk to me!" She shouted. "I didn't get C to talk, but I'll get you to. Mind you, C didn't say a word. Is he always like that?" She asked.

"I bloody wish." I blurted out. She smiled.

"Oh, so you do talk." She sat in front of me on her knees. "Where're you from?" She asked. I snorted.

"I'm not stupid. I'm not saying." I said defiantly.

01:51

"Really?" Xiaoyu said. "In the _fridge_? With a _hosepipe_?"

"I know. It's bloody crazy." I finished my little entertaining story, when a knocking came at the door. I opened it. Fritz stood there.

"Get out here, J. We need help changing the tyre." He said. I looked to Xiaoyu.

"But I was…"

"Not you too." Fritz rolled his eyes. Xiaoyu came to my rescue.

"He was guarding me." She spat coldly. "And if it weren't for him, I'd get out and smash your face in." Fritz smiled evilly.

"In a lifetime, maybe, yes, but not now." He said. He nodded to Xiaoyu. "Just ignore her. She's a whiny little bitch. Aren't you?" He asked Xiaoyu sardonically. "You just couldn't shut up. You didn't even say anything interesting. Just ramble about fudge. Is that normal?" With that, Fritz left, grinning as he went.

"Thanks." I whispered to Xiaoyu. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I try to be friendly to everyone… except him." She said. I chuckled.

"Yeah, he can be a bastard at times." I said. "I mean, there was one time when…"

04:35

Soon, Xiaoyu was asleep, soothed by the rumbling of the van. She looked contented, and it made me smile to see her smile. Her radiant beam and her subtle joy were confusing to me, but it seemed to be contagious. Then the van stopped. I got out, carefully closing the door so Xiaoyu wouldn't wake up. I walked around to the front. Fritz, Takeshi and Bill were standing there.

"What's going on?" I asked. Fritz pointed to the road ahead. A man in samurai attire stood there, his katana glistened with green light, his face obscured by his helmet. I turned to him. "Hey, get out the way!" Then a cold, mechanical voice ringed.

"The Manji Party does not move to let evil through." The voice said. "You shall not proceed."

"How can there be a party if there's only one of you?" I asked him.

"Shut up." The samurai said angrily.

"Listen, what do you want?" Fritz said.

"The Manji Party wants nothing other than to save refugees and victims of evil." The swordsman said.

"Oh for god's sake, quit with the whole evil thing. It's irritating." Fritz said.

"No." The swordsman said defiantly. Fritz pulled out his pistol and fired. The bullet bounced harmlessly off the armour. "Now let the child go."

"She's eighteen. That doesn't really count as a child." I said. "And anyway, we're not going to do any bad to her. In fact, all things considered, this is an escort mission, not a kidnap."

"These are of evil intentions. If Heihachi tempts Jin to come, then the world is doomed." The swordsman said.

"Who said so?" Takeshi asked. The swordsman turned to him.

"I sense goodness in this youngling, but he has been led astray." He said.

"Put a sock in it, Yoda!" I shouted. "Just get out the way and spare us the trouble of taking you to pieces."

"So you can wreck havoc to the girl's mind. I think not." The swordsman pointed his sword to me. "If I have to defeat you by force, so be it!" This was the first time we saw his face. Or not, because he didn't have a face. Or skin, for that matter. It was a skeleton. We all jumped back, yelping like small yappy chihuahuas (the annoying shits)

"You must have a very good deal of calcium." Fritz said nervously. The swordsman chuckled. It was a low, cold and mechanical chuckle.

"I like your humour. It's a pity you won't have any more when I'm through with you." With that, the swordsman leapt to us. We started to fight. I pulled out my knives and struck for his helmet, which was unharmed. Fritz tried to thumb jab him, and ended up dislocating his own thumb.

"JESUS CHRIST!" He screamed. Takeshi kicked the swordsman in his head. The swordsman was unaffected and replied Takeshi's attack with a fierce spinning kick. He turned to Fritz and smashed his hilt into Fritz's head four times. He turned to me, and slapped me, turning me around.

"A slap? What are you, a girl?" I asked. He grabbed onto me, and leapt up into the air, spinning like a cyclone. It was like a drugs trip, but just dark and dangerous as well as vomit-inducing, and I did vomit. The sloppy mess landed on Takeshi as we spiralled down. The skeleton landed upside down, smashing me onto the ground. He turned to Bill. Bill opened his palm and smashing his hand onto the swordsman's head. The swordsman staggered back. Bill picked up the swordsman and threw him into a rock. Amazing, the skeleton got up, but he was worse for weather.

"You have won this round, but when you face me at the King of Iron Fist Tournament, you will regret crossing paths with Yoshimitsu." With that, he walked off petulantly. I looked to the others.

"What a prick." Fritz muttered. I got back into the van. Xiaoyu stirred as I closed the door.

"What did you go outside for?" She asked.

"Tyre change. We've only got a few more hours driving left." I reassured her. She smiled, and fell back into her slumber. I was glad that we would be there by the morning.

That was when the shotgun shells ripped right through the metal, sending the van veering off the road, and into a ditch.


	5. The Request

**I notice that my fight scenes are, compared to others, quite poor. Exodus is an example. Most of tem are only there to drive the storyline a bit, but it doesn't change the fact I have difficulty. So, I've taken things into account and... _failed_ to make an interesting fight scene... _again _(rolling eyes). Luckily most of the content of this chapter isn't the fighting, and there's a load of jokes to amuse you. Aw, diddums.**

Chapter 5 – The Request

04:36

**Fritz's POV**

I was the one who was driving. I was happy about defeating the skeleton dude. Then shotgun shells smashed into the side of the van, at least four at a time. My happiness dropped like a lead balloon. The van was sent bending off the road by the sheer force and sent nose first into a ditch. The mud seemed to fling itself onto the windscreen, yet Takeshi and I knew it was the other way around. Bill calmly turned the windscreen wipers on. I turned to him.

"Why did you do that?" I asked. Bill shrugged his shoulders.

"Can't see." He said simply. I hit my head on the steering wheel in pure frustration, which caused the airbag to hurtle into my face.

"Who fired the shotgun?" Takeshi asked.

"Mph, mph, mph, mph." I muffled.

"What?" Takeshi asked.

"Mph, mph, mph, mph!"

"What?" I forced the airbag away for a moment to reply Takky.

"I said 'If you don't burst this fucking bag, I'll kill you.'" I said angrily. Takeshi cut the bag with his knife. I breathed in relief. "Now we can ask who fired the shots, because that'll fix the van, won't it now?" I forced the door open, and a pile of dog shit poured onto my lap from outside. "Lovely." I murmured. I forced my way through the mud and shit to the top of the ditch. I looked to the wreckage. It was a shame to see a servant that had been so faithful in previous missions in the dirt. It had saved our skins so many times, mainly because it's a lot faster than an angry gun toting lunatic who I had shot in the leg. It had become as part a team as Takeshi. More so, in fact. At least the van didn't drone on about morals. Benni clambered out the wreckage, dragging the girl by the scruff of the neck.

"What the hell?" He asked.

"I know." I said. I looked to the top of the ditch. A dark figure I couldn't make out stood there, holding a shotgun. I pulled my pistol. It was a Wolfram PP7 with a silencer. It had killed many people and by the power of Greyskull it better kill another. I turned to Takeshi. "Fix the car and keep an eye on the girl. W, J, follow me." They followed me to out of the ditch. Then I saw who was holding the gun. It was the loony from the G Corporation. Without another thought, I turned around immediately. "Back down the ditch." I muttered. Benni pushed me out the way, sending me tumbling down into the ditch. Bill followed me and promptly stood on me, which caused me to lapse into unconsciousness.

**Kazuya's POV**

I chuckled at the collapse of the captain. I would have thought of something to say, but my attention refocused onto the Julius child. He bore his knives.

"You again?" He asked. I nodded. "What's with the shotgun? Fighting too hard after the leg?" He snarled. I seethed. The leg wound was carefully concealed by my bandage and gi trousers, but it didn't stop it stinging.

"I needed some way to get your attention. Do you use knives because you're too weak without them?" I asked mockingly. He spat in my face. "Didn't your mother teach you anything about manners?"

"She taught me to fight." The Julius child said.

"We shall see!" I shouted, leaping to him. He instinctively blocked, though I didn't strike with my fists. My right leg smashed into his body. He bowled over in pain as I kicked him once more. I smiled at his pain. Then his knife struck out at me like a scorpion's tail. I pulled my head back.

"Not quick enough." The child muttered, just catching my cheek. The scratch was small, and not even enough to draw blood, yet the pain surged through me. I doubled back. The Julius child was relentless. He kept up his attack, striking out. I grabbed his arm and twisted it around. I sent my foot into his face, bowling him over. He tried to stab the leg I stood on, but I jumped on top of him. Now I had him.

"Silly boy. Playing a man's game." I said, pulling his hair. He rolled onto his back, though. Boy, it hurt. I won't lose. I couldn't. I flicked my leg out. He staggered back, but only just. He then stopped fighting all of a sudden. I stood up. I looked to him. He had rolled his head into his arms so he couldn't see. I guessed he was waiting for me to strike. I picked up my shotgun slowly, and aimed for him. He couldn't see. He'd be an easy target. However, as my finger eased itself next to the trigger, a leg smashed into my left leg. Specifically the shin with the knife wound. Pain is something I have felt very few times, and I'd like to keep it that way, so to have a pounding into an already pained wound is like murder. Then the Julius child unleashed a ferocious kicking combo. I took the blows however. I waited for a chance. Just a slight one, but he dropped his left arm for an instant. I grabbed it and forced the knife into the side of his leg. He screamed and fell to his knees. I took his chance and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. I smiled.

"Time to die, boy." I said. Then I heard a thudding sound, and felt the air of a bullet past my ear. I looked. The captain had struck up the nerve to shoot at me. I threw the Julius child into him. "This isn't over!" I shouted, and ran to a safe distance.

**Benni's POV**

I had to follow him. He was my only clue into the death of my parents, and I wouldn't let him get away. I ran after the man. He went into a small dip. I ran down into the dip to see something I didn't expect. A deep crater filled with flames, lighting the night sky, a fierce wind, yet no person, or indeed living being. I couldn't explain the shock I felt. Imagine waking up one morning to find your house was now in the shape of a large cabbage, everything inside was made of sugar and a haddock in a business suit was knocking on the door rambling about car insurance, and you'll feel the same sort of surprise, but depression was something to be worked on. I walked to the crater. I bent down to it. I saw something flicker. I picked it up. After putting out the object and my coat sleeve, I looked to the object. It was a piece of paper. A brochure, to be exact. A brochure advertising the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4.

"So, that's where he'll be." I hissed. My thoughts were distracted by an irate shout.

"You bastard!" I turned to the source of the voice, reluctant to turn away from what could lead to the answer to my questions. Fritz was jumping up and down on the van. "Work, you stupid little fucker!" He screamed. The engine strained and struggled, yet nothing happened. "WHY WON'T YOU FUCKING WORK?" Fritz shouted. Then Bill got out the van's driver's seat.

"Do you want me to put the key in the ignition?" He asked. Fritz looked as if he was ready to kill Bill with his bare hands.

"WHAT?!"

"I said..." Bill started.

"I FUCKING HEARD WHAT YOU SAID!" Then Fritz burst into fits of profanity unheard by any human ears, nor should it be. Words I had never even heard where used. Takeshi, Xiaoyu and I were amazed. It was almost beautiful, the grace and elegance, the passion that was put into the insults and curse that escaped Fritz's lips. It took an hour for him to stop.

"So do I put the key in the ignition?" Bill asked, as if this was perfectly normal.

"YES!" Fritz shouted. The van burst into life. I went back to guard duty on Xiaoyu, and we drove. Xiaoyu had gone back to sleep, and I heard Takeshi and Fritz speak almost silently.

"How do we convince her she's at Ford Headquarters?" Takeshi asked.

"Well, I was... I have it. This is what we do..."

The Next Day

14:34

**Xiaoyu's POV**

I didn't expect it to feel like such a short time. I had to be blindfolded when I got out, though oddly I didn't mind. I knew that I wasn't going to have anything bad happen to me. I was directed, and soon felt the sensation of the lift. S and J were taking me the top floor of the building. When the lift stopped, they took the blindfold off. J pointed to a door.

"Just go into there." He said. "Good luck. Mr Ford can be antisocial at times, and I mean at _all_ times." With that, the lift door closed. I opened the door slowly. There stood one of the stupidest looking men I had ever seen. He had a goatee, his eyes were different colours, he was fat, and smaller than me. He wore a waistcoat and trousers to match.

"Hello Ling Xiaoyu. I am Henry Ford." He said in an Oxford English accent.

"I thought you were dead." I said. He looked annoyed.

"I am Henry Ford _Junior _if you want to be fussy about it_._" He snapped. I bowed my head and apologised. He smiled evilly. "I would have contacted you normally, but Heihachi may have reacted. Here, he doesn't know who's kidnapped you." I had to ask.

"Why?" I blurted out. Henry's smirk grew all the wider.

"Heihachi's been causing me a bit of grief recently." He said, patrolling the office. "His stocks are worth a lot more than mine. It would be a shame if he were to…" With this, he pulled out a leaflet. "… lose all of them." He threw the leaflet to me. I caught it and looked.

'THE KING OF IRON FIST TOURNAMENT 4! THE PRIZE – THE MISHIMA ZAIBATSU ITSELF!'

"If you can guess what we want you to do, then we'll give you a bon-bon." With that, he placed a small sweet on the table. I had guessed already.

"Why me, though? Why not somebody else?" I asked, but Henry shushed me.

"If you don't want to do this, then that's fine, though if you want to leave this building safe in the knowledge I won't send C, S, J and W after your Kazama friend, I'd suggest you reconsider, and, by the way, it won't be a kidnapping." He said. I was terrified. I couldn't risk Jin's life. I nodded. "Good. My accomplices shall keep an eye on you to make sure you don't go back on our deal. You are dismissed, Ling Xiaoyu." With that, he shooed me away. I walked outside. I tried not to cry, but I couldn't help myself.

**Takeshi's POV**

It was a good idea, to use the wrecked G Corporation building as the Ford Headquarters. I was glad that it looked good, because it took four hours to fix up that office while Bill drove Xiaoyu around and around in circles until we had finished, and Bill _still _managed to get lost. I got the blindfold ready when Xiaoyu walked through the door. Her eyes were slightly pink, as if she had been crying. I put the blindfold on slowly. Benni looked concerned.

"You alright?" He asked. Xiaoyu nodded.

"Did he upset you?" I asked. Again, a nod. "How?"

"He wants me to enter the tournament, and bring down the Zaibatsu." She replied. "I don't think I can go through with it."

"Just go back on the deal once you win." Benni suggested as he pressed a button on the lift. Xiaoyu shook her head.

"You'll be there to make sure I don't." Xiaoyu said. I smiled reassuringly.

"We'll figure something out." I said. Xiaoyu smiled slightly. The lift opened, and C and W stood there. How C put his uniform and handkerchief on and still managed to get downstairs before us was beyond me.

**Fritz's POV**

Sliding down stair banisters is bloody painful.


	6. FCAMM

**I suppose this chapter is just to drag the story out, but, still, I like this chapter. A bit more joke-like than Chapter 2, at any rate. Thank you to Razer Athane and SeungSeiRan for the reviews. Thumbs up to you both. I didn't put up the actual name of the chapter because the acronym sounds like a weird mobile phone. The actual name is:**

Chapter 6 – Fucking Coffee And Mango Muffins.

**Yep. You heard it.**

The Next Day

06:13

**Takeshi's POV**

The first thing I heard was a thud. I woke up in a jolt. I got out of my bed. The others couldn't take her to their places, so I ended up with her in my custody. I didn't mind. In fact, I preferred it. But why had Fritz insisted he and the others stay here? I wouldn't let her escape… I think… I walked downstairs to my personal dojo, to find my one of punching bags in shreds, sand all over the floor. I looked up. Xiaoyu stood in her battle stance, and she looked fierce. She turned to me. Her ferocious look died down instantaneously.

"Did I wake you up?" She asked. I nodded. "Sorry." She murmured. I shook my head.

"Doesn't matter." I said. "I like to see people train. A good fighter acknowledges other styles." I gestured to a sleeping Fritz, who was on the sofa, making loud snoring noises, whiskey bottle in hand. "C doesn't do any style, and W just hits things. J has one though. I don't know what. Might be independent." I turned to her.

"Hakke Sho, Tai Chi and Hikka Ken." She said. I smiled.

"What a coincidence. I know Tai Chi." I said. Xiaoyu beamed.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yeah. My style's independent. Cross between Tai Chi, Tae Kwon Do and Samurai hand-to-hand." I said. She pointed to the punching bag at the other side of the room.

"Burst it." She said. I obliged. It took sixty hard and fast hits, but I did it. It felt good. Usually, I avoided taking violence to the limit, but this felt good. Like a sense of achievement. Xiaoyu patted me on the back. "Nice one." She said. "I did that one in thirty." She said. Then I heard a rumble like an earthquake. Another punching bag fell off its hook. "Is W up then?" She laughed. I laughed too. To see her smile despite everything's she's been through... made me smile too. It made me think...

**Bill's POV**

Roll out bed. Face land on floor. Ow.

**Fritz's POV**

It was Bill rolling out of bed that woke me up. I got off the sofa, slurring and clutching my head. I violently threw my whiskey bottle at the wall. Takeshi and Xiaoyu looked to me disapproving. They were both sweating. I looked to the floor, which was covered in sand and shredded punching bag.

"See you're up." I muttered. I fumbled on the floor, and found a CD. I put it in the stereo player Takeshi had. I then walked into the kitchen, listening to the pounding guitar.

_**BANG BANG! BANG BANG! BANG BANG! FEUER FREI! BANG BANG! BANG BANG! BANG BANG! FEU…er… flur…**_

Disturbed by the break of the music, I turned around to see Xiaoyu holding the CD.

"What… the hell… was that?" She asked irritably. I rolled my eyes.

"Rammstein." I replied. "One of the greatest metal bands in the entire world." Xiaoyu rolled her eyes.

"I should've known you're a metal head." She said. She gave me a small CD. "_This_ is music." I took one look… and snapped it in half.

"Cascada? Music? What the fuck do they teach you at school?" I was disgusted. This girl was getting more irritating by the second. Xiaoyu looked offended. I gave her another one of my CDs.

"These guys will cheer you up." I said. She looked at the box.

"Nirvana… I might give these a go." She walked off, clearly not noticing my evil smirk. The reaction should be fun.

**Benni's POV**

I hadn't slept that night. Too many thoughts rushing through my head, colliding like missiles causing explosions of confusion, which sounds a lot like something out of the Phantom Tollbooth. Somehow, I had to convince Fritz to let me join the tournament. The sound that woke me up from my daydreaming was of Xiaoyu walking in. I looked to her. She looked like she had been training, and she held a Nirvana CD in her hand. I looked at her.

"You don't look like a grunge fan." I said. She looked at the CD.

"I'm not. Fritz suggested it. I don't what they sound like." She said. She looked at me. "Are they like Hannah Montana?" She asked. I cringed at the mention of the Montana witch. I looked Xiaoyu straight in the eye.

"No, thankfully." I said. Xiaoyu gave a confused look of embarrassment. I laughed at it. She looked so entertaining. She laughed too. She sat down. Next to me.

"What do you look like?" She asked curiously. "Underneath that handkerchief."

"Can't really say." I replied. "One day, you might find out, but not today." She looked upset. "Not my choices." I said. She smiled to me.

"No probs." She replied. "Just curious." She gave me the CD. "You'd prefer this more." I smiled. Nobody had given me a gift in a long time other than Liz. Fritz gave me a bowl of his own excrement as a practical joke, and Bill had sent me a chair which he had wrapped in fly paper a year ago, but nothing more.

"Thanks." I said to Xiaoyu. She beamed before walking away. That was a smile I could get used to. Small, cheerful, impacting. It made me think...

**Bill's POV**

Hear cracking of wood. Fall through floor. Land on other floor.

**Fritz's POV**

It was an entertaining sight, to see Bill's large bulky form smash into the floor from above. He got up, unharmed, though the floor now had a Bill-shaped fissure. Then, a knocking at the door. I opened the door to see the last person I expected. It was Benni's sister, my girlfriend, Liz. She wore a white trench coat and a baggy hakama, god knows why. My jaw did press-ups, my eyes did cartwheels and my stomach strangled itself with my intestines.

"Hey there, handsome." She said. She pulled up my handkerchief and kissed me. I blushed stupidly. The blood rushed to my face as she put the handkerchief down.

"Liz, how'd you know where I was?" I asked.

"You can't get far from me." She said. "I followed you from the moment you left… C." With that, she hugged me. At least she knew not to call me Fritz in front of Xiaoyu, who had just come down from the stairs. She looked shocked.

"I didn't expect you, of all people, to manage to attract a girl." She said. I scowled underneath the handkerchief. Liz walked up to her.

"Don't be fooled by the whole 'I'm a mute bastard' façade. When the job's over, he's a sweetie." She stroked my cheek. "A talkative one, too." Then she turned back to Xiaoyu. "So, you're entering the King of Iron Fist, huh?" She asked. Xiaoyu nodded.

"Yeah. Henry Ford blackmailed me to." She said. Liz shrugged her shoulders.

"There are worse people." She said. "Are you really good?" Liz sounded like an expectant schoolgirl. Xiaoyu opened her mouth to speak, but then had to block a quick jab sent by Liz. "I prefer 'learn by doing'. No offence." With that, she flipped her arm around, knocking Xiaoyu backwards. With her opponent distracted, she had time to pull out her wooden training knives. She ripped off her trench coat and hakama, to reveal that underneath, she was wearing a sleeveless shirt that only covered half of her belly and gym trousers. I nearly had a heart attack. She looked stunning, though she always did. A face to melt the hardest hearts, short bleach white hair that surrounded her head in a spiky tomboyish style, hips like crescent moons, legs smooth as a pebble, a bum which appealed to me more than cake, and massive…ly beautiful blue eyes. She got into her fighting stance. Xiaoyu did too. Liz was first to strike. It was a quick strike, but was mistimed. Xiaoyu replied with a strike to the head, which _wasn't_ mistimed. Liz bent over in pain, but then tripped Xiaoyu from behind. She let Xiaoyu get up. Liz and Xiaoyu started exchanging blows, and after five minutes of intense sparring, Liz and Xiaoyu stopped, sweat dripping from their bodies. I desperately told myself not to get excited. Judging by Liz's aroused smirk and Xiaoyu's embarrassed smile, I didn't succeed. I decided to ignore it and hope it went away.

"So, Liz, are you entering the King of Iron Fist too?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah." She said. "I can think of something else that's made of iron here and it's your…"

"So, did J teach you that knife… stuff?" I said, desperate to change the subject and distract the girls' attention.

"Kali stick fighting. Yeah. He _is_ my brother." Liz said, though she wasn't put off. Xiaoyu leaned towards her, though still kept an eye on my pelvis.

"J's your brother?" She asked her. Liz nodded, though not averting her gaze. I was really uncomfortable with the stare they gave me.

"Uh huh." Liz answered, her attention still below my abdomen.

"Yeah." Xiaoyu replied, drifting off into a daze, watching my pelvis as if something interesting was about to happen.

"Would you mind not looking down there?" I hissed slightly. Liz and Xiaoyu didn't even seem to hear my discomfort. They continued to stare. I decided to walk away from the situation. I walked up the stairs when, out of nowhere, Benni pulled me into his room. He looked dangerous, as if he hadn't slept all night.

"We're entering the King of Iron Fist." Benni snarled. I was terrified; my erection went down like the mood at a Live Aid concert when Bob Geldof announces the contribution the Nazis had kindly given. However, I only had one answer.

"Fuck you." I murmured, and forced myself out of his grip. He pulled out his knives and put them to my neck.

"We're entering the King of Iron Fist." Benni snarled... again.

"I think that is a very good idea." I said politely. "But why?"

"That guy from the G Corporation. He's there." Benni explained.

"And this is a reason to go?" I asked heatedly. "The guy's a daft git. Leave him. If you want to find out about your parents, I'm sure Google will have it somewhere."

"No!" Benni barked. "He's the only link I've got to why my parents died, and I almost had him!" He clasped his knife angrily. It was still bloody from the fight.

"And being stabbed in the leg is considered winning?" I asked. "Anyway, it's a trap."

"What?" Benni asked.

"Well, think about it. He came to you last night, and got nothing from it. It would only be common sense to get you into his territory." I explained. "His fighting style's Mishima. The King of Iron Fist is his main gig. He's going to kill you."

"If I don't, he may go after Liz." Benni rasped. I was astonished by his stubbornness.

"He doesn't even know Liz ever existed!" I said. All too loudly.

"Who doesn't know I exist?" Came Liz's voice from behind my ear. It sounded ferocious. I turned my head around. She looked menacing. Her arms crossed, her legs apart, her eyes frowning and her mouth straight. I decided not to lie.

"Some creep who Benni wants to find." I said. Benni sighed.

"Why?" She asked. Benni took her aside.

"I think it's about time that I tell you about mum and dad." He said. I heard some mumbling, though I didn't pick up much. I decided not to linger. I went downstairs to shout at Takeshi for the first reason I could think of.

**Liz's POV**

I listened intently to what had happened before I could remember. I expected to be sad, to weep for mum and dad, but no. They were strangers to me. I was seven, yet I hadn't learnt to remember them. It made me feel bad, certainly, but it was like finding out there was a horrible accident nowhere near where you live. He finished his story, and I felt guilty for not being upset.

"I didn't expect you to cry." Benni said, as if he had read my mind. I nodded, smiling, and we walked down the stairs.

"I could do with some food. What's S got?" I asked Benni.

"Ask him yourself." He said. I turned around. Takeshi just walked out of the kitchen.

"What?" He said.

"What food do you have?" I asked.

"Seeds, vegetables, fruit." He said. "I'm a vegan. I also have coffee and mango muffins if you want them." I silently cursed for not having brought a ham sandwich, and almost vomited at the idea of a coffee and mango muffin. I asked for an apple. He walked back into the kitchen, though not before giving Xiaoyu a look. I knew that look. It was the look Fritz sometimes gave me. It made me think...

**Fritz's POV**

I think… I'm really going to have to find a source of meat. I can't go for two days living on nothing but nuts, fruit, vegetables and fucking coffee and mango muffins. Beef pie was needed urgently.


	7. It Sickened Me

**Another bit more. And now offically, I don't know what to do. Seriously. Mind's blank. I'll work on it, though.**

Chapter 7 – It Sickened Me

The Next Day

The Tournament Grounds

Mishima Zaibatsu

About lunch time

**Heihachi's POV**

I looked from the podium onto the crowd. Nobody special. A bald man, a man with stupid hair, an idiot who seems to think he's a cat, a Brit, a girl, a schoolgirl, a girl with breasts bigger than her head, an assassin, a robot, a prat with floppy hair, a chef, a bear, a psychopath, a skeleton samurai… thing and some womanising pathetic man who reminds me of my adoptive son Lee for no reason whatsoever. Then came in the first person I wanted to see. My son, Kazuya, who looked deadly and watchful. He kept in the dark, with his sunglasses, possibly just so he might pass as Jin, but I knew what my son looked like, and he knew I knew, and he knew that I knew that he know that I didn't not want to not know that he knew what I want to not have him want to know how…

I silently cursed myself for getting confused, because now he actually _did_ look like Jin, and it didn't know whether it was him before or not. My question was answered when Jin walked in. Despite his efforts, his bangs showed through his hood, so it didn't take a genius to know who it was. Two down. All I needed now was Xiaoyu. And, dead on cue, she came in, closely followed by five of my agents… wait, _five? _I clearly remember sending out four agents with handkerchiefs on their faces, not four agents with handkerchiefs on their faces and a hot sassy tomboy. Still, can't be helped. What matters is, Xiaoyu's here. And Jin seems to have noticed her. Well, time to open this tournament wide open.

"Right!" I boomed. I loved booming. "First things first! The prize is the Zaibatsu, so I can _guarantee_ nobody will win! Next! You'll be identified by numbers for security reasons! Anyone got a problem, please leave! With that, let the tournament begin!" I opened a large box. "In here are your numbers! Show others if you want! I don't care, but the politically correct do!" With that, the girl I knew to be Julia Chang made a 'humph' sound. "Come up and collect your numbers." With that, each fighter queued up. As Kazuya passed, he glared at me. I watched Jin go past, who tried ignoring me. I saw Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu. I'm so glad to see you safe." I said. I was, really. It would ruin my plans if she wasn't. "So, how did you escape?"

"You know me." She said, giving me a hug. "I'm a fighter." I hugged her back.

"Good, good. Now, run along to meet your friends." I said. With that, she ran over to the schoolgirl. I cracked my knuckles. "My plan is in motion."

**Xiaoyu's POV**

I saw Miharu Hirano, a school friend of mine, and I _had_ to talk to her. She was excited to see me. She waved and ran over.

"Xiao!" She shouted. She enveloped me in a one armed hug. I did the same.

"Mi!" I replied. We let go to do a high five. Then Miharu noticed everyone behind me, C, W, J and S holding rifles.

"Who are these people?" She asked. I turned around.

"I don't know, except her." I pulled Liz over. "Mi, meet Liz, Liz, Mi." I introduced them. Miharu waved slightly.

"Hi." She said. Liz, her white and red tartan-check shirt unbuttoned to show off her belly, nodded to the red head.

"Hey." She said. Miharu smiled. I suggested we go shopping, and they both agreed. We walked off, leaving my kidnapper-turned-escorts behind.

**Fritz's POV**

"What the hell is it with girls and shopping?" I asked the others. They turned to me. "Have they never heard of Amazon? Or eBay? Or even play dot com?" Takeshi looked disapproving. He scowled underneath that handkerchief, or I think he did.

"That's not a good thing to say, even by your standards." He said. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well, it's true." I said. "I'm going to get a drink." I turned around to find Mr Drive standing about an inch from my face, scowl on face and cigar in mouth.

"Coster!" He barked. I leapt back.

"Jesus!" I said. "Don't creep up on us like that." He didn't look happy.

"Where's the girl?" He asked.

"Oh. Bill's following her." I said.

"No I'm not." Bill said. "I'm here." I turned around.

"So go follow her." I said. Bill walked off. Mr Drive nodded in approval.

"Good. Best of luck for the tournament." With that, he walked away. His thin grey hair surrounded his shoulders. He was five foot, on the dot, so he looked down on me. Though, saying that doesn't make much difference. He towers over everyone in metaphorical terms more than a literal sense. His eyes are a greyish green, as though he's dead. To much of the world, he is. People have called me emotionless before, but then they meet Mr Drive. He's almost as emotionless as Nicolas Cage. He has only two emotions. Humour and anger. The anger was reserved for when everything went wrong, and his humour is just... sick. A lot of rumours of his cruelty go across the canteen table. Apparently, he had once burst a school into flames, children inside, merely because one of the teachers had ripped him off. When I asked him if it was true, he merely smiled. That smile still haunts me. It was sweet, it was kind, and it sickened me. I could kill, easily, and I have done, but not innocents. Just people who we have to deal with, but Mr Drive... his blood was that of a coldest colour, his eyes of a thoughtless kind, and a mind of poison. He couldn't think like a normal human being. He could only think like a sadistic priest, a cynical lion, a merciless knight, the world under his feet with nothing to gain and nothing to lose.

To bring me back to reality, Bill came back, carrying Xiaoyu, Liz and Miharu in one hand.

"Got them, sir." He said. I rolled my eyes and hit him with the newspaper I held.

"_Follow_ them!" I said. He dropped them. They walked off, the red head asking Xiaoyu who I was. I rolled my eyes when she whispered to Miharu, not considering that Fritz could lip read with expert precision. "I think we have a problem."

"Yeah." Benni said. "Takeshi's a vegan."

"I never thought I'd say this, but there are more pressing matters than food at the moment." I said. Benni looked to me.

"Are you ill?" He asked. I nodded.

"Maybe." Then I saw Xiaoyu whisper to Miharu something.

"I do know those guys. They kidnapped me a few days ago, but they're doing an escort mission. I've got to win the tournament or Jin..." She stopped. "S and J are sweet, though J can be a bit harsh, and S is a bit naïve." She said. This was coming from the girl who believed me about the whole Ford Motor Company thing. "W is a moron, and C is a bastard."

"No, he isn't." Liz hissed at her. Xiaoyu put her hands up.

"He shot me in the leg." She complained.

"It's his job. What else can he do?" Liz argued. I put my head in my hands. I would not survive through the tournament. The stress was already far too much. I needed beer. Quickly.

15:09

**Benni's POV**

Xiaoyu came back to the hotel room with some thirteen bags of shopping. Bill loomed over her. I shooed him away. It was just me and Xiaoyu, so I thought. The kidnapper has the victim in his sights, though she doesn't act like the victim and I'm not a kidnapper anymore. I was going to play mind tricks on her when Liz walks in. I'm sure she could read my thoughts, because she gave me a warning look. She walked into the bathroom. _Now_ the kidnapper has the victim in his sights, though... I watched Xiaoyu carefully.

"I know you're putting the whole 'watching me mute my name is C' thing on." Xiaoyu said. "Why?" She asked. I didn't expect that question. I didn't have an answer, other than to look confused. Xiaoyu leaned over. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I replied. Then I thought of something. "Why do you care?"

"I consider you as a friend..." Xiaoyu said. To be honest, that freaked me out slightly.

"What?" I asked. She giggled.

"You're cute when you're confused." She said, before punching my arm. I punched her back. Liz walked in, towel around her body and her body soaked.

"If you're fighting before the tournament, I'm more than happy to join in." She said. I scowled at her humour. Xiaoyu laughed.

"If that's your fighting gi, any male opponent would pass out before the fight, and you'd win by default." She said.

"That's the plan." Liz giggled.

"Well, I need that shower." Xiaoyu said, taking off her shirt on her way to the bathroom. It wasn't a sight I hated, to say the least. Liz sat next to me.

"You kinda like her, don't you?" Liz whispered once Xiaoyu had closed the door.

"In what way?" I asked.

"You know what I mean." Liz smirked. I was tempted to hit her. "Though, if you do, Takeshi's been giving her the eye too."

"Fine." I whispered. "He can have her."

"Really?" Liz asked.

"If he wants to get himself fired, he's more than welcome." I said. Liz looked suspicious.

"_Do _you like her?" She asked.

"Well, yeah. As a friend." I replied. Liz cocked her head sideways.

"Are you sure? You look good together." She said.

"Fine." I said jokingly. "I'll change my mind just for you." With that, I pushed her away mockingly. She got back up.

"I was serious, you know." She said. "You have a sort of... connection." With that, she went to put some clothes on, leaving me confused as hell.

19:42

**Fritz's POV**

I looked to Bill, who had to fight his first opponent, who was a tall, hooded figure. The arena was strange. It was a big shopping arcade. Bill stood at one of the lifts, which had a hole in his shape in it. Xiaoyu came in, and her eyes widened when she saw the hooded figure. She ran over to him, and hugged him tightly. I rose an eyebrow.

"Jin?" Xiaoyu asked. The man looked like he wasn't enjoying this, but nodded. "What happened?" She asked him. "Where have you been all this time?"

"I can't tell you, and you can't see me as much as you would prefer. I want to keep discreet. However..." He looked up as he said this, and gave me, Bill, Takeshi and Benni a cold hard stare. "... your captors need dealing with."

"Listen, Jin, its fine, they won't hurt me." She said, but 'Jin' wasn't paying attention. He pointed to me.

"I'd be very worried, C. Your band is a lot nobler than you. They kidnapped her, yes, but they followed orders, and they'd die otherwise, and Xiaoyu's right when she says they won't hurt her. You, however..." He said. "... will be the death of her unless I can stop you." I laughed.

"What are you, a soothsayer? Take a hike!" I replied. "I've got orders to keep her safe, and nothing's going to kill her, much as I'd love to help."

"Let's see how cocky you are after I beat W." He took up his fighting stance. I tapped Bill on the shoulders.

"Take him out." I said. Bill didn't take up a fighting stance. He just stood there as Jin shoulder charged him. Bill didn't move, but just batted Jin away. I laughed. "Some epic opener that was! You're just some kid playing a man's game." I clicked my fingers. Bill went onto the offensive, running over to Jin and plucking him off the floor. Jin kicked Bill back, who moaned in pain. He dropped Jin like a hot potato, and then suffered a tough kick to the shins. He kicked Jin away. Jin skirted across the floor, wincing in pain, but somehow rolled to his feet. Bill didn't give him a chance to though. As soon as Jin was up, he was down again, a simple overhead smack bringing him down. I smiled. Xiaoyu grabbed my forearm. Her expression showed an expression of pain.

"Don't." She said. I smiled wider, making a thumbs-down motion. Bill picked Jin up from the floor, and dropped him again. Jin grunted in pain. My smile grew wider than ever before as Bill brought his foot onto Jin's splayed out form. Then Jin grabbed the foot, and spun it around. Bill collapsed to the floor, and Jin rolled onto his feet. He smashed his foot into Bill, and then somersaulted onto him. Bill tried getting up, but Jin forced him down. It was only one punch to the head, and Bill was out. The crowd cheered, though I was worried. Anybody who could give Bill a run for his money was a formidable force. I kept up the blank annoyance façade, silently screaming, noiselessly running, wordlessly yelping and not quite so metaphorically shitting myself..

**Benni's POV**

Xiaoyu ran over to Jin once more. This time, he hugged her back, but not in the same way as she hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're alright." She said. Jin rolled his eyes. I walked up to Xiaoyu and patted her on the back. She turned around.

"Your match is in a bit." I reminded her. She nodded. Jin nodded to me.

"I know your real name, as I do for all the others. I'd be worried." He said. "Your resent against my father will bring you nothing but pain, if not for you, for Alizee." I scowled.

"I'll have something to say about that." I replied coldly.

"You could flood the building with talk, but it will not stop Kazuya. I have reasons of my own to defeat him. Let me beat him for you." Jin said, but he then stopped. I had caught him in the shin with my blades, forming a small x shaped scar. He looked to me in aggravation. I crossed my arms.

"As long as I have these," With this, I spun my blades around. "Liz ain't getting a scratch on her." Jin prepared to punch me, but held it back.

"I respect your courage, but it will only bring you trouble." With that, he walked away. I was thinking of stabbing him, but remembered that Xiaoyu's match was on, and followed her closely, keeping one eye on her and one on Jin, which caused me to go crossed eyed and collapse.


	8. And Traces of Genocell

**This chapter isn't very long, but I'm glad that it's out the way. I had writer's block because I had a good idea for what to do afterwards, but not how to connect it up. With thanks to Razer Athane, who helped me out of a tough crisis of loss of ideas... and I didn't beg for ideas in any way, shape or form... Hopefully, things should run a little more smoothly.**

Chapter 8 – And Traces of Genocell

20:01

**Benni's POV**

I had left the rest of the band early to do some research on the man from the G Corporation. It had become apparent that I needed to know more about him if I was to hope to defeat him. I walked into the Mishima Data Room. A scientist sat there. He stood up, and tried to block me from the main computer.

"Do you have authorization?" He asked. I drew my knives. I flipped onto my back, sending the blades millimetres from his face. I landed on my back and my foot whipped just before his face. Again and again, I struck, but intentionally missed by a centimetre, many a time, less. I stood up when I had finished, the tip of my knife touching the space in between his eyes. He looked terrified. "I'll take that as identification." He let me past. I sat down. I opened the Image Finder. **Please describe your target. **I typed in the words of my target. The screen went blank. **Loading...** I sat patiently.

**Fritz's POV**

We escorted Xiaoyu to the arena where she would be fighting her first opponent. I looked around. It was in the middle of the street; with the only thing stopping us running away was the road blocks. As it turned out, I really wanted to run away when I saw Xiaoyu's first opponent. It was none other than Yoshimitsu.

"Shit!" I shouted. "It's the zombie!"

"I'm not a zombie!" Yoshimitsu retorted. "You have no need to fear me."

"Open fire!" I shouted out of pure terror, and the others drew their guns and fired. Yoshimitsu didn't look so much as hurt as irritated. We stopped when we realised he was unharmed, other than Bill, who hadn't worked out how to use the pistol.

"When you're quite finished." Yoshimitsu said. He turned back to Xiaoyu. "Youngling, you must leave this tournament. The purpose you fight for is a false one." Xiaoyu looked annoyed.

"I won't let Jin die!" She spat.

"He's not worth saving. He came for revenge. You come into no part of the equation." Yoshimitsu said.

"What do you mean?" Xiaoyu slowly asked. Yoshimitsu turned to me.

"For once, I understand why you hate her so much." He said. He turned back to her. "He feels for you, but not as you'd want him to."

"What?" Xiaoyu asked. Yoshimitsu stabbed the ground.

"Look, you stupid bitch, he doesn't love you." He said. He made a love heart shaped mark on the floor. "Do you want to see how he feels? Huh?" Yoshimitsu then grabbed my pistol and shot the heart repeatedly.

"That's my pistol!" I said. "Give it back, you bony bastard."

"Fight for it!" Yoshimitsu said angrily, mainly out of antagonism.

"Bring it, you skeletal pansy!" I said. Then I regretted it. He ran to me with his sword. I put my hands up, knowing it wouldn't work. Somebody stopped him in the nick of time.

**Benni's POV**

**Loading...**

**Loading...**

**Loading...**

**Loading...**

**Loading...**

"Stop fucking loading and start fucking doing!" I shouted in vain. Then the worst thing that could happen happened. The blue screen came up. The blue screen of death. I kicked the computer and walked away. "SOMEBODY GIVE ME A FUCKING MAC!"

**Yoshimitsu's POV**

The strike Xiaoyu had given me was harsh, fierce and timed immaculately. I rolled across the floor. I landed on my feet and stood upright. She looked stern, but considering that she was wearing a school uniform, she looked like a five year old who had just told me off for littering. I laughed at her.

"For a small child, you're pretty stupid." I said. The youngest of the three kidnappers looked offended. The captain sniggered. The big one tried to swat a fly on his face, knocking himself out. The girl had the nerve to charge to me. I waited until the last minute and then held my clenched fist out. Xiaoyu collided head first with it, causing her to collapse on the floor. I stood on her and readied my sword. "You just don't know when you're outmatched." I said, smiling. Her pained expression almost made me stop, but I chose not to. This was for her protection. She couldn't proceed. Then I felt a force like a sock of potatoes. Not enough to move me, but it winded me. I looked down. The youngest Tekken Force soldier had tackled me unsuccessfully. I picked him up by his t-shirt.

"Don't." He said simply. I threw him away.

"Noble, but foolish." I told him. I turned back to Xiaoyu, whose hurt idiom was replaced by one of anger.

"I..." She spat, kicking my face. "...won't..." She kicked again, her face red. "...lose!" She whipped out a ferocious three-kick combo that sent me flying. I landed on the floor painfully. She gave me no recovery time. She kicked me twice while I was on the floor. I, however, knew what to do. I took the blows, slowly watching her legs become lazy, her face tired, her eyes squinting. I then blocked one blow. Xiaoyu seemed to try looking shocked, but was too exhausted. She flopped as I threw her over my body. I got up, her body sprawled across the cold tar macadam, her eyes drooping, her face tired.

"You can't win." I told her simply. I walked over. Then I noticed a pain in my ribs. I looked to the rib in question. The youngest had struck my rib. I looked to it. It remained solid. I picked him up by the scruff of the neck and threw him into the wall. He flopped to the floor. The captain clapped his hands slowly.

"Very good." He said. "Very good. However, if you win, it's my job on the line." He gestured to the gorilla-man. "You remember what Bill did to you before?" He asked. I remembered all too well. Half of the dents hadn't been fully buffed out of my armour. "Forfeit." The german said. It wasn't a request, or even a demand. It was a statement.

"Never." I said, before regretting it. The german clicked his fingers. Bill shifted his weight to his right foot. He slowly edged towards me. I got into my fighting stance, preparing for what would come. He ran to me and kicked out at me with his heel. The force of a train, the speed of a rocket, the power of a forklift... and the pain! It fucking killed. I skidded across the floor. I looked up to the silhouette. It was the image of nightmares.

**Bill's POV**

Smash.

Bash.

Stop... what does 'Mercy' mean again?

**Fritz's POV**

I could only watch as Bill's eyes crossed in deep thought, before collapsing into a stupor. I knew what had happened. He had thought too hard. Last time that had happened, we were in a room full of men with guns. They asked him a question (a yes or no question, might I add, about whether or not he had two hands or not), and he had collapsed, knocking down the door and giving us an escape route. Now, however, it gave me a death warrant. Yoshimitsu looked to me with a mixture of hideous hatred, his helmet bent completely out of shape so that it looked like a...

How could I put it?

_bizarre _part of the human anatomy. How it got into that shape, I don't know, but I'm glad he hadn't noticed, considering how he was feeling at the moment. He marched towards me, his hatred boiling to the surface. Then something amazing happened. Takeshi and Xiaoyu attacked him jointly. It was as if they had practised. Legs, hands, elbows and knees flew around Yoshimitsu like flies.

"STOP!" He shouted. He threw his sword angrily on the ground. "FINE! IF THE STUPID FUCKWIT WANTS TO GET HERSELF KILLED, I'LL FUCKING WELL LET HER!" With that, he stormed off, with a collection of people laughing at his helmet. The two fighters clapped hands in a high five. My phone rang. I answered it, hoping it was Liz.

"Coster." Came Mr Drive's voice. I froze. His voice rang with sick humour. "You have new orders."

"Yes?" I asked him. "What do you want me to do, shoot the moon?"

"Exactly." Came the reply. "I want you to do what you could never get away with. I want the impossible. I want Ling Xiaoyu dead."

**Benni's POV**

I had got myself a Macintosh, and was glad. It worked without a glitch. I turned it on.

"I'm your computer. For some inadequately explained reason, I can talk through the speakers to you." It said in a very uptight and mechanical voice. I was taken aback.

"Which idiot thought you were a good idea?" I asked it.

"Go collate yourself." It said. A computer with an attitude. I scowled.

"Get me all you can on his man." I said, proceeding to give a very accurate description of the target. "Can you?"

"Certainly." It said. "I've watched enough Star Trek episodes to know how to do that." Up came a document on a man I was surprised by. The name, for a start. Mishima. Kazuya Mishima. Not something you hear everyday. He was Heihachi's son, and, according to the article, Heihachi didn't really like his son. Here's an example: The article said that Kazuya's favourite colour was, and I quote, "The little fuckwit." I scrolled past Heihachi's abuse and got to a very interesting bit.

Blood Type: B, with traces of technical blah blah some weird shit about devils, I'll randomly dismiss it as Heihachi's abusive ramblings **and traces of Genocell**

Genocell! I knew that name! My father worked on that. He made it with... something. So that was what Kazuya was after. That's why G Corporation killed my parents... but then... why was Kazuya after _me? _Revenge? Spite? Sheer bloody stupidity? Or something else? Something he needed? And, more importantly, what does he need with Genocell? Life support... no. Last I say of him, he was in perfectly good health, other than the leg wound. I decided I had seen all I was going to get. I stood up.

"Remember to turn me off!" The Macintosh said. I rolled my eyes, and pulled his plug. I heard a faint sigh of relief, and walked away, slightly disturbed, for more than two reasons...

**Fritz's POV**

"What?" I asked Mr Drive. Had he gone mad? "Why?"

"Are you getting passionate about her?" Mr Drive asked back. I almost threw the phone at a wall.

"You know I'm with someone." I hissed.

"I know. She's in my sights." He said. "And I don't mean my eyes when I say sights." He added. I could see the scene. The black cross, Liz smiling on a bench. Fury rushed through me.

"What?!" I growled.

"I won't be killing her. I'd be the one to do the deed, but, technically, you'll be pulling the trigger." Mr Drive said.

"Why do you want Xiaoyu dead?" I asked.

"She's ruining Heihachi's plan, and I like plans."

"That's no reason to kill someone!" I hissed.

"Neither is being declined." Mr Drive spat. Then his voice went softer. "Have you ever lost somebody? It makes you... do things. Do you want to know why I had burnt the school down?" He said.

"Because you're a bastard?" I asked.

"The teacher had killed my mother." He replied. "He was an assassin. My mum was part of the KGB. This is the Cold War era. Do you want to be dragged down to that level, Coster?" I looked to Xiaoyu. It was her, the girl who had saved my skin twice in the same five minutes, or the only meaning of my life. I had killed before, but not in cold blood. However, I thought about what Mr Drive had said. I couldn't kill Liz. Not even for the world. I knew she would give herself up, but I couldn't give her up myself.

"Fine." I sighed.

"Good." Came the cheerful reply. "We'll fix the fights so you meet her in the second to last round. We'll put it off that you were a loon who went..." I put the phone away from my ear, the drone falling through the speaker, feeling my soul wither. I said I would kill for Liz, but I never expected the day when it would come true. I looked to my left. Takeshi put his own mobile phone down, glaring at me, and I knew he had heard me. I shrugged my shoulders. I guessed how he felt.

"It's my job." I said. "In the great system of things, I'm nothing but a soldier. A tool for the schemers to use to run their schemes, and we do what they say because we have no alternative." I walked away, passing a confused and oblivious Xiaoyu and an unconscious Bill.


	9. Nobody To Love

**Well, I've made yet another fight scene. Thank you to Razer Athane for giving advice on it. This chapter's dedicated to her (I'll assume Razer's a girl due to her OC in the 'Me' trilogy who's of the same name _everyone rolls eyes saying "Obviously, spongecake2, you stupid twat._ So, yeah) This is the chapter where the romantic aspects come into it. Also, I've decided to add lyrics from the Muse song, Stockholm Syndrome, because I've only just thought of that idea, and the lyrics seem appropiate to what happens.**

Chapter 9 – Nobody to love

_I won't stand in your way._

_Let your hatred grow._

_And she'll scream, and she'll shout,_

_and she'll pray, and she had a name._

_Yes, she had a name._

**Stockholm Syndrome by Muse**

21:01

**Benni's POV**

Benni sat down on the small bench, contemplating. I was confused by what I had found out. So Kazuya seemed to be desperate for Genocell. For what, I didn't know... in fact, what the hell _is_ Genocell anyway? Some weird formula or something like that. And why was Kazuya after me? Was it for the settling of scores, information, or simply because he's a dick? My train of thoughts was interrupted by Xiaoyu, who sat down next to me. I was surprised to see her. Pleasantly so.

"Hey there." I said. She smiled at me. "Win your first match?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Uh huh." She looked to me. "Why weren't you there?"

"Needed to get somewhere." I said. I decided to tell nobody about my findings. They'd all say the same. "So, who'd you face?" I asked politely.

"Some guy." She replied. I decided not to question her. Clearly, despite winning, something was up. I decided not to press. I looked to my wristwatch. I stood up and walked back to the hotel to get drunk...

The next day

12:24

I woke up slowly. A splitting headache ripped its way through my head, making me feel like a bus: bits of me keep leaving. I didn't remember sleeping in a bin with a traffic cone on my leg. I pulled myself out of the rubbish heap to find a comatose Fritz and Liz, arm in arm, below me, clothed only in a collection of newspapers. I got down next to them, carefully not to wake them up. I looked across the alley to see a smashed car. Wrecked and smoking. I walked over, cautious. Then Bill got out, completely unharmed despite the fact his tuxedo was on fire.

"Hello." He said.

"Hi." I said. Bill gave me blank stare, and looked to the sky.

"Where?" He asked. I rolled my eyes. I took his tuxedo off for him. I stamped the flames out and gave it back. I walked over to the sleeping lovers. I hated to wake them up. I played the disapproving elder, but, actually, Fritz was the only person I could trust with Liz's heart. I picked up a small broom handle and poked Fritz. He turned himself over. I poked him again. He didn't respond. I smashed the broom handle over his back. He bolted upright.

"What the hell?" He asked me.

"It's your match in a few minutes." I pointed out. "And you're not wearing anything."

"When's the match?" He asked. I told him. He cursed and looked for something to wear.

Six minutes later.

**Takeshi's POV**

I waited impatiently for Fritz to show up. I knew that I had to win, for Xiaoyu's sake. I looked to her. She simply smiled back, not knowing of the thoughts in my head, rushing through my head like trains. I looked down. I wondered... maybe... just maybe...

Just maybe, I loved her...

I looked around the arena to dissipate the thought. The small underground club was packed full of spectators, who were all obscured by the darkness. They were restless. I looked to the empty doors. I only just made out two shapes. One female form and a smaller, male form. It could only be Fritz and Liz. They conjoined in a passionate kiss. I wondered whether or not Xiaoyu and I could ever be in that same pose, before shaking the thought off. Then two larger forms came up from behind. Benni and Bill. They patted Fritz on the back, and he walked through. The Judo gi he wore was... surprising. It was made entirely out of newspapers, tied together with masking tape, and a rolled-up bin bag acted as a belt. Fritz sighed.

"I know. I know." He muttered. Liz, Benni and Bill stepped out of the shadows. Liz wore similar attire. Benni and Bill clearly hadn't lost their clothes. Fritz had to lose. For Xiaoyu's sake. The bell sounded, the crowd cheered, and my anger surfaced. I placed all my weight into my left foot, and the right sent itself into Fritz. He wasn't a fighter, and so he knew nothing about blocks or traps. He simply landed on the ground.

"Fritz!" Liz said. I knew it was a good strike, and it hurt her as much as it hurt Fritz. It made me feel guilty, but it was for a good reason. I waited for him to get up. When he didn't, I walked over. Had the fight finished already?

CRACK!

The shattering of stone underneath my back, and the rush of pain, and the taste of blood. Fritz wasn't a fighter. He didn't have the knowledge, the skill, or, and this was what I forgot, the morals. He had tripped me up, and I had landed on the lower of my spine. I was blinded by pain and humiliation. I opened my eyes. Fritz stood over me, smirking. I kicked up, but it was no good. My leg stopped inches from his smiling face.

"You'll need to do better than that." Fritz taunted me, before landing a sharp kick to my ribs. The breath rushed from my lungs. I spluttered in pain. Then I thought where to hit him. I whipped my left leg around to his abdomen. He bowled over, giving me time to get up. I went for an elbow strike to the head. The effect sent Fritz to the floor. He slowly got up as I waited for him. He staggered to me, but the previous strikes had taken their toll. He was wincing with every step. I whipped my leg around. He fell back. He rushed himself forward with a harsh punch. I was smashed down. However, I noticed a weak spot in his footing, and went for the misplaced leg.

"You'll need to do better than that." I repeated his words to him. I pulled his leg up, sending him to the floor. He groaned in pain as I pulled his weight up. I let go at last minute. It was unfair and cruel, but it was a tactic he'd use, so I'd have t employ as well. He screamed in pain. Liz stood up.

"Don't you dare do that again!" She scowled. I looked into her eyes. A lover's eyes. The eyes I wanted... no... well, maybe... just maybe... eyes just maybe for... for Xiaoyu to have. To defend me. To care for me. To shield me from the pains, and the taunts, and the hate that Fritz fired at me. A lover's eyes. That's what I wanted to see from her.

The space of time I spent thinking were to be moments I'd regret. A destructive force smashed into me side in the form of Fritz. I collapsed to the floor from his tackle. I punched up as soon as he was on top, but he was undeterred. He punched me three times in the chin. I scowled in pain. He loosened himself to strike once more. Here, I popped my stomach up. he fell off me, and I kicked him away. He rolled painfully around. We got up simultaneously. I went in for a leaping kick, but he sidestepped just in time.

"Idiot." He murmured as I came into contact with the floor. I rolled across the hard stony surface and landed on my feet. I got up to full height and looked for Fritz. He had somehow disappeared. I looked around the arena. This was a small arena. He can't have gone far. I looked to Xiaoyu. She was biting her nails. Her eyes flickered to behind me, and back. It was enough to tell me where he was. I turned to face the coward. He wasn't there. I scanned the crowd. A part in the crowd. I pushed past the people.

"What the hell?"

"Get lost!"

"Get in there!"

Their comments were ignored as I searched for Fritz. It was like looking for a straw of hay in a pile of needles. I couldn't find him. My blood pumped to my ears in fear. He could be anywhere. I walked back to the arena itself. I saw the clearing, when a cold hand wrapped itself around my throat. I struggled against Fritz, but his hands were strong. I knew too well that he was experienced in this move. I could slowly see the world around me blacken. I forced myself away from him. I collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath. A foot came into contact with my diaphragm. I splayed across the floor. The world went dark.

No, I couldn't lose.

I mustn't lose.

I...

**Benni's POV**

Takeshi's unconscious body was tended to by Xiaoyu almost immediately. Liz tended to the bleeding and bruised Fritz. Although he won, he had taken quite a beating, and I was sure that he'd lose. Liz kissed his cheek repeatedly, and Xiaoyu shook Takeshi's limp body. To be perfectly honest, I envied the two. I wouldn't mind having somebody who would tend to me, care for me.

But, as always, I had nobody. Nobody to love, nobody to kiss, nobody to embarrass in front of their parents at Christmas. Nobody. I wasn't alone, but I was always unaccompanied. I walked over to Fritz.

"You were lucky there. He seemed to be really going for you." I said. I leaned closer to him. "Are you planning what I think you are?" Fritz turned to me, and I saw something I didn't expect. Regret. The regret was then followed by ardent power.

"It's what we do..." He said. "...and all we do." He walked away. I knew what he had in mind. I looked to the girl in pink. I turned back to Fritz.

"Let hate consume us?!" I asked him angrily. He stopped.

"Let love ruin us!" He retorted, walking away. I realised the stakes. I looked to Liz, who just looked confused. I remembered that promise to my parents all those years ago.

_Keep her safe, for all our sakes._

I looked back to Xiaoyu. She would have to die.

_Unless..._

I thought desperately. A plan to stop Fritz and keep Liz safe at once. It would be difficult, but... it could be done. I noted the plan. Then I thought, _why? _Why am I doing this? Why am I saving her? What is she to me? A friend? A duty?

Or... something else?

I shook these thoughts away. For it to work required my full concentration, and skill. And it would be hard. But it would have to work.

It would just _have_ to.

_I won't hold you back._

_Let your anger rise,_

_and we'll fly, and we'll fall,_

_and we'll burn, and no one will recall._

_No one will recall._

**Stockholm Syndrome by Muse**

**Hope you enjoyed it, Razer, as well as everybody else who read it.**


	10. Passionate Words Between Lovers

**Another chapter to blast through. By the way, if I start writing more one-shots, it's because I can't think of anything for this. If I say I've run out of ideas, or if I make it blindly obvious, give me a PM if you like. Thanks. There isn't as much humour as the other chapters in this one. I decided to play with the whole Fritz/Liz thing. The song I chose was 'At My Most Beautiful' by REM which is a bizarre name seeing as they never say that. It took me fucking hours to think of a song to go with this chapter (mainly because I listen to some bizarre music). I hope that people like this chapter. It's a shame that I'm not writing it anymore, because I really liked the process of writing it. Still, there'll be more to write. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it:**

**--**

I read bad poetry  
Into your machine  
I save your messages  
Just to hear your voice  
You always listen carefully  
To awkward rhymes  
You always say your name,  
Like I wouldn't know it's you,  
At your most beautiful

At My Most Beautiful - REM

--

Chapter 10 – Passionate Words Between Lovers (For No One Else To Hear)

The Next Day

12:41

**Benni's POV**

I was slowly pacing Fritz's room. I had broken in, and was now waiting for him to walk through, back from lunch. I looked to the clock. It would be a few minutes before he got here, so I sat down. I slowly flicked through the various channels.

"... Kenichi, there's going to be a spot of weather somewhere in this area."

"... fuck you, Bagpuss!"

"... and so we can clearly see a perfectly well formed..."

"... pair of balls. I'll repeat, in his last turn, Steve Davis potted a pair of balls. How's his opponent going to..."

"...impending nuclear war. And, in our top story, a panda has escaped from the zoo."

"...versus Alizee Julius..."

"... and dispose of the body. Next, add a pinch of cinnamon..."

I suddenly realised my sister's name had been said. I turned the channels back. There she was. My sister, and in the background, I could see Fritz. So that was why he wasn't here. He was at her match. I cursed myself for not thinking about that. Well, I needed to make full sure my plan worked, and for that, Liz would _have_ to get to the next round. Xiaoyu's life depended on it.

**Fritz's POV**

The arena was certainly a bizarre choice. A river, hidden in the depths of an artificial jungle. No crowds, simply a small booth for the spectators to sit in. However, I hadn't been concentrating on the arena. My sights were on Liz. I had been gazing at her for what felt like a year, but had actually been less than three minutes. I hid my worries behind a mask of happiness. Not worried about the match, but about what I have to do. If she found out what I'm going to do, she'll leave me. If she doesn't, I'd slowly but surely fade away.

And if I fail, she dies, and I'd never forgive myself for letting that happen. It was a sick and strange world. Succeed to lose her, fail to kill her. The deceit was eating me up from the inside, I could feel it. My emotions were dwindling away, replacing bliss with despair, sweet with bitter, peace with pain. And it was for what? I destroy myself to no reward. Trust Mr Drive to think of something like that. He claims to like plans, yet he ruins them everyday. The slimy git. Sadism was an advantage to him, depression a form of entertainment. He loved to destroy lives. He was oblivious to shame. No mercy, no leniency, no pity, no sympathy. He was just cold, and I was becoming cold too. Like him. Like death.

I didn't even hear the bell. It was only Liz's movements that brought me back from the painful future to the violent present. She had drawn her blades, which shone like crystals, and pulled herself back onto the defensive. Her opponent missed her kick. A young girl of about eighteen, possibly older, with what appeared to be a... Red Indian fetish? It was something I had never seen before. I shrugged it off and continued watching the fight.

**Liz's POV**

Julia Chang, the girl I faced, was swift. I had only just avoided the whip from her leg. I expected that to be enough, a sort of warm up strike. Clearly not. I only just noticed the second strike ring around for my shin. The two legs collided. The pain raced up my leg. Before I could recover, or even scream, a third attack from the same leg crashed into my face. I fell onto my back.

"You're not ready to face me." Julia said. I didn't like pompous people, and that statement made me want to hurt her. Then I remembered. This was a fight. I _could _hurt her. I grabbed onto her belt and threw my under her legs. Before she even knew what was happening, I got up and brought my joint elbows into her back. She screamed in pain. I turned around and sent my left leg into her. As she fell to the floor, I shifted all my weight upon my feet, bending down so one of my knees touched the floor.

"Clearly, I'm not ready." I replied her sarcastically. The girl turned herself over. She slowly got into a crouch. She was just in distance of my face with her foot. She whipped it around. I only just blocked it, and my ducked position saved me from the leap-kick that fired her body over me. I tried to turn over in time, but she pulled me up, off my feet and to the floor on my back. The pain replaced all other feelings. I didn't even have the breath to scream. All that came out was a splutter. I rolled myself over immediately. I looked to her in anger.

"Don't make sarcasm if you can't fight." Julia said, before sending yet her right fist into my face. The blood rushed to my face in anger. I tried to kick her with my left leg, but it hurt. I mistimed the attack, and Julia replied it expertly with a double kick. I flew back. I wondered what it was that had made my leg hurt. Then I remembered.

_The first strike._

Of course. It was a crippler, an attack solely purposed to take a limb out of action. Without another thought, I brought my good leg into her side. She blocked it, but I had pulled it back as it contacted, breaking the guard. She grabbed the defending forearm in pain, not noticing my next strike. I used my blade to slash a scar across her shoulder. She grabbed it. The mistakes were easy to take advantage of. Too easy, in fact. Instead of attacking again, I waited. She looked annoyed.

"Right." She said, balancing her weight all onto one foot. Her weight wasn't in the leg though. "Time to finish this." She snarled. The opportunity to strike looked fake, so I waited, which I regretted. An uppercut to the stomach came my way, and I didn't manage to block it. I fell to the floor. My body seemed to be on fire. My brain called to stop, and my body seemed to oblige. I slowly felt my eyes closing, when I noticed Fritz stand up. He was walking through the crowds to the arena. I smiled slowly. The love which he carried in his eyes was fuelled by anger and fear. I looked to Julia, who stood over me. She looked sympathetic. I didn't know what I could do to win. Then I remembered what had happened at Fritz's match.

_Don't fight with morals._

I tightened the grip on the blade in the hand closest to Julia and sent it into the flesh of her leg. The screech was more of surprise and disgust than one of pain, but the next scream was of hurt, as I pulled her down onto the floor. The arena floor cracked underneath her weight. I swiftly got up, waiting for her to pull herself up. When she did, I kicked her back down again.

A wave of pleasure came over me, and I knew Fritz was looking at me. I turned to him. He had reached a break in the trees, but now his face was not of fear or anger but of smugness. I smiled to him. He then pointed to Julia. I turned to her, and avoided a deadly and strong elbow strike. I took the time to trap the arm. I forced the offensive hand down and punched her in the face with my hilt. I repeated the motion four times, getting closer. When I was close enough, I tripped her up with my leg. She fell to the floor, but I continued to punch her. I soon stopped. Julia's cheek was coated in bruises. I towered over her.

"I win." I said, before pushing my foot onto her cleavage and kicking her away. She tried to get up, but appeared to simply give in. I looked to Fritz. He leapt down. I tried to run over, but fell on my bad leg. He somehow managed to catch me. I looked to his face.

"Hello." He said. I smiled. We shared the embrace. It was passionate and uplifting. I felt myself melt away in his arms. The atmosphere around us, despite the blood on the floor and the dirt in the air, slowly grew warmer. The sun shone brighter than ever. The adrenaline turned to passion. I slowly leaned back, pulling him closer. He was careful not to place his weight on my left leg, the leg which hurt. He slowly toyed with the thread holding my fighting gi together. "Ich liebe dich." He said. The german phrase I had heard so many times before. He spoke to me in Italian or English all other times. It could only mean one thing if he was speaking his first language.

"Not here. People are watching." I whispered, though, in reality, I wanted nothing more. He looked to the booth. He then slowly rolled sideways, holding me close. We came into contact with the refreshing waters of the river. The booth was out of sight.

"How about now?" He asked. I pretended to disagree.

"Not in public." I said mockingly. Then he placed his mouth next to my ear.

"Ich will Sie. Sie und nur Sie." He said. The romantic words left me breathless, more so than the fight itself. Passionate words between lovers, for no one else to hear.

_I want you. You and only you._

I smiled up to him, and slowly pulled my lips to his.

01:23

**Fritz's POV**

I reluctantly walked back to my hotel room. I so loved Liz, but apparently we couldn't do it while the cameras were there according to the officials. They said it be too 'pornographic' and 'distasteful'. So, we did it anyway, and I loved it. After a vigorous cut in my pay check from Heihachi, I was sent back to my hotel. I walked in and slumped across the bed. A cold hand pushed my head back up. I looked up.

"Interesting post-fight entertainment." Benni said mockingly. "I didn't even know Liz could even _do_ that. Speaking of which, what exactly did Liz mean when she said..."

"None of your business." I growled. "What do you want?" Benni sighed.

"I know you don't want to kill Xiaoyu." He said. "And neither of us wants to see Liz die either. So here's my plan. I'm going to fight Liz. And win."

"How the hell will that help?" I asked. Then I realised. "You're not going to..." He nodded.

"If she's in the hospital, it'll give you a reason to not kill Xiaoyu. I go to kill her, say I failed, you can keep an eye on Liz, Xiaoyu's stays alive. Everyone's a winner." He said. It was far-fetched. Worse, it was stupid. But it was hope. My soul was being consumed bit by bit. I needed something to cling onto. Some supporting rope to save me from drowning. I looked to Benni.

"If you can beat her, do it." I said. "Though I don't like the idea." Then I thought of something. "Why are you doing this?"

"Well," Benni stuttered. He looked unnerved. "I just don't want to see anyone die when they don't have to."

"Is it something more?" I asked slowly.

"No." He said sternly. The eyes, though, gave away the fact that it was. However, I knew that he wouldn't say anymore on the subject, so I decided to say no more.

"This had better work." I stood up to leave.

"It will." Benni said. "It has to." He added quietly. I could only agree.

* * *

I've found a way to make you  
I've found a way  
A way to make you smile

At my most beautiful  
I count your eyelashes, secretly  
With every one, whisper I love you  
I let you sleep  
I know you're closed eye watching me,  
Listening  
I thought I saw a smile.

At My Most Beautiful - REM

* * *

**Hey ho. I had quite a bit of trouble writing the fight scene. I hoped it would be to the same quality as the one in the last chapter. Might not be, I can't really say until I see the reaction. With thanks to Razer Athane and SeungSeiRan, who are the most ardent (ooh, look at me using fancy words) of my reviewers for this story. It would've been harder to write without them. Thumbs up to you both. By the way, about the lines, something's fucked up here, so I don't know how it works anymore. Oh well. 'til next time.**


	11. Thinkers and Doers

**A short chapter here. I decided to play around with Mr Drive's personality, and charecter's playing. Not as much humour, again, though I'll try and make up for it in the next chapter. Read and review.**

* * *

Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier  
Sie atmet dich sie sucht nach dir  
Nistet auf gebrochenen Herzen  
Geht auf Jagd bei Kuss und Kerzen  
Saugt sich fest an deinen Lippen  
Gräbt sich Gänge durch die Rippen  
Lässt sich fallen weich wie Schnee  
Erst wird es heiß dann kalt am Ende tut es weh

Amour Amour  
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen  
Amour Amour am Ende  
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen

_Love is a wild animal  
It breathes you it looks for you  
It nests upon broken hearts  
and goes hunting when there are kisses and candles  
It sucks tightly on your lips  
and digs tunnels through your ribs  
It drops softly like snow  
First it gets hot then cold in the end it hurts _

_Amour Amour  
Everyone just wants to tame you  
Amour Amour in the end  
caught between your teeth_

Amour by Rammstein

* * *

Chapter 11 – Thinkers and Doers

15:45

**Takeshi's POV**

The first thing I feel is numbness. Then the pain slowly creeps its way across my body. And then the fear. Fear that I had woke up too late. Fear that Xiaoyu was dead. Fear that Fritz was away. Fear that I could do nothing. And then I slowly feel my eyes start to open. All I see is distorted blurs. Then I hear a voice. A sweet, sing-song voice.

"You up?" Xiaoyu asks as everything comes back into focus. I smiles back to the girl. I slowly pull myself up to witness the world once more. Doctors rush around me, not running, but clearly hurrying. I look on, confused. I look back to the girl. "You were out for a day. I was so scared." She turned back to the place I couldn't see properly. The blurs there hadn't focused themselves. "And no thanks to him, you're alright now." The blurs finish themselves, and I see all too well the deadly force that stood at the end of the room. Clad in his black denim trousers, his black leather full length trench coat, his bandolier and the tell tale red bandanna. Black thoughts of danger passed through my mind.

"I see I didn't finish you off." Fritz quipped. Xiaoyu walked over to him.

"I think you have something to say." She said angrily.

"Yes, and little girls can't hear it." Came the callous reply. "It's your match now." He clicked his fingers. Bill walked over and plucked her up by the scruff of the neck, off the floor and into his one handed grip of steel. Fritz sighed. "For once, I'll allow you to do that. Go." He said.

"Where?" Bill asked him.

"To the airport." Fritz said. Bill looked confused. "With the planes." Bill made no reaction. "Big things that fly."

"What? Eagles?" Bill asked. Fritz turned to Xiaoyu.

"Please direct W to the airport. And no funny business." He barked. Xiaoyu reluctantly pointed Bill to the door. He walked away like an obedient servant. Fritz walked over. "Right, now I know that..." Here, he stopped talking because I had punched him. He fell to the floor. I got out of the bed to kick him. He squirmed. I pulled him up to my level.

"I won't let you." I snarled. Fritz looked annoyed.

"Good. I'm not going to." He snarled back. I dropped him. He flopped to the floor. As he got up, I asked him what he meant. "What the fuck do you think?" He said. "Just don't tell her."

"Why not?" I asked. Fritz pushed me back onto the bed.

"Let me explain." He said very, very coldly. "One, you can tell her if you want her to never trust us again, and I know somebody you who wants her to trust them a lot." I guessed that he was referring to me. I bit my lip. "Two, Liz's life was at stake." He said simply. I looked into his eyes, and I could see for once what love, true love, was like. It changed him. It made him protective of her. It poured itself into his soul, like another being entirely. I was hypnotised by the beauty of his brain working, thinking of her. "And finally..." He said, and then he stopped. He then punched me in the stomach. The pain rushed back. My weakness didn't help. "Don't hit me again, you fucking pansy." Fritz snarled. He then turned on his heel and walked for the door. "Oh, and learn to cook something _other _than coffee and mango muffins." He added, leaving me more bewildered than that time when Bill gave me a bent spoon for Christmas.

**Xiaoyu's POV**

W carried on his embarrassing procedure of carrying me. I tried to struggle out of the grip, but his hand was as twisted and impenetrable as a granite octopus. Sooner or later, he dropped me at the airport. I looked around in discomfiture. A crowd had gathered, and many of them were smirking. I looked to W. He looked unfazed. I turned back to the crowd. Somebody stepped forward, smirking wildly. It was J. I pretended to be annoyed, but I was glad he was here. Liz stepped out from behind him.

"I haven't seen you smile in a long time." I said. Liz leaned in.

"Don't tell him that he's smiling or he'll stop." She quipped. J turned to her disapprovingly. "Well, it's true." She seemed very happy, as if she just had an astonishing experience. Before I could ask...

"Yep." J muttered. "They did it." Liz giggled.

"You sound like you hate Fritz for going out with me." She elbowed him, and walked back to the stands. J followed her.

"Well, for a start, I can see it's past that stage, I'd prefer it if he didn't go out with you, and you certainly shouldn't to it _in public_." He complained. Liz just kept laughing. I was almost in hysterics to J's reaction. In fact, if it weren't for the anxiety following S and C's match, I would join in with Liz's raucous laughs.

But no. The fear was too much for me to get over quickly. Fear for S. I would look into his eyes, and I knew he cared. Out of all the other kidnappers, he was the one who cared if I got hurt, cared if I was upset, cared if I was in danger. C would laugh, W would ignore me and J... what would J do? I could see in his eyes when he looked at me he was hiding something from me. Something dangerous. Something potent. It made me want to know their stories. What they hid behind their handkerchiefs and... and...

... how they felt for me.

And, more importantly, how did I feel for them?

**Fritz's POV**

I stumbled into the office of that dread lord Mr Drive, who sat and waited. The office was petty, small, with hardly anything in it. A filing cabinet, a small, modest desk and, hanging above him, the only thing he ever cared for. His favourite of all of this Earth, his precious, his only love. The Russian bolt-action SV-98 sniper rifle with custom silencer. It was all he truly showed any emotion for. For him, working for Heihachi was simply what he did, yet his SV-98 was what he _needed_. The monochrome green weapon seemed to have its own aura around it. An aura of terror. Of malice. Of death. Many souls lingered around them, and they clung onto my heart. I wondered whether or not Liz's soul would join them.

"Sit down." He barked. I obeyed. "I'm going to give you details of how the assassination will unfold." He picked up a file.

"It's not wise to have documents of murders lying around, sir." I pointed out. Mr Drive showed me the file and opened it. It was completely empty.

"I'm making this up as I go along." He said. I had to admit, as much as I hated him, his brain worked like an intricate machine of tremendous power. It planned every detail. He could detect emotion in a cream cracker, find deceit in a table leg, distinguish a willing troop to a reluctant one. He leaned back. "You will go to the arena at eighteen hundred hours in..." He stopped. He seemed to process some information. "Murder?" He enquired. I looked confused.

"Well, I'm killing somebody. That's a murder, technically, sir." I explained. He sat forward.

"You always call it an assassination, Coster." He said cautiously. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?" He asked. I sighed.

"Wouldn't defeating her be sufficient enough? Knock her out the tournament?" I asked. Mr Drive seemed to think about this.

"I suppose there's no harm in telling you." He said. "There's something else. Something that's cropped up." He smiled. "Jin Kazama is a... I won't tell you details you don't need to know, but basically, he's got a genome which contains enormous potential."

"Potential for what?!" I barked. Mr Drive shrugged his shoulders.

"You wouldn't know. You're a doer, not a thinker. Ever heard the saying, monkey say, monkey do. In this world, its thinker say, doer do." Mr Drive's words hit home like hammer strokes. I was trapped in his world. And his world had his rules. He'd find out what Benni and I planned, and he'd make us pay eventually. The only victory I could achieve would be to bring his plan crumbling with me, whatever it was. He continued:

"We need to unlock this genome, and there are only two ways of doing this. A big emotional change, and Jin is very friendly with the girl, or chemically, and that method died out with its secret ingredient." My head swam, my mind reeled, my anger swelled.

"AN INNOCENT GIRL IS GOING TO DIE FOR NO GOOD REASON!" I shouted.

"Happens everyday in Africa." Mr Drive retorted, sounding as if he didn't even care. I hated him so much. "And anyway, it's one girl or the other." That's it. That's what blew it. Rage blinded me. The black snub of my Wolfram PP7 flashed out of my coat. Mr Drive didn't even flinch as I pulled the trigger. No bullet. No bang. Nothing. Mr Drive chuckled.

"It's a pity." He said, opening his hand over the desk. "I know where you keep your ammunition." Six brass bullets landed on the desk. Mr Drive smiled. "Leave. I'll tell you the details a later date." He said. Reluctantly, I turned away. I thought of something, and stopped.

"What's this chemical?" I asked.

"You won't find it." He said. Though he told me anyway. "Genocell." He said simply. With that, I left, kicking the bin as I went.

* * *

Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier  
Sie beißt und kratzt und tritt nach mir  
Hält mich mit tausend Armen fest  
Zerrt mich in ihr Liebesnest  
Frißt mich auf mit Haut und Haar  
und würgt mich wieder aus nach Tag und Jahr  
Läßt sich fallen weich wie Schnee  
Erst wird es heiß dann kalt am Ende tut es weh

Amour Amour  
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen  
Amour Amour am Ende  
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen

_Love is a wild animal  
It bites and scratches and kicks towards me  
It holds me tightly with a thousand arms  
and drags me into its love nest  
It devours me completely  
and retches me back out after many years  
It drops softly like snow  
First it gets hot then cold in the end it hurts_

_Amour Amour  
Everyone just wants to tame you  
Amour Amour in the end  
caught between your teeth_

Amour by Rammstein

**A bit of a mopey one, that one. I don't really like it, but I couldn't think of anything else. Oh well. I might've come up with something better if I had more time, but right now, I've got a load of stuff to do, so I decided to get this out the way. Sorry for poor quality. I'll make it better next time. I promise. Read and review.**


	12. Hurts

**Yet another short one. Once again, the fight scene isn't great. Oh well. A bit more humour than in the last one.**

**--**

How does it feel  
To treat me like you do  
When you've laid laid your hands upon me  
And told me who you are

I thought I was mistaken  
I thought I heard your words  
Tell me how do I feel  
Tell me now how do I feel

Blue Monday - New Order

--

Chapter 12 – Hurts

**Takeshi's POV**

I was desperate to see Xiaoyu's match. It was to make sure she was ok. I didn't even consider the fact I wasn't well. I stood up. I was surprised to find myself standing perfectly. I looked to the door. I decided. I would go to her match...

... _and maybe... just maybe... maybe tell her..._

No, I thought to myself. I wasn't going to be an idiot. I would be a friend. I'd go anyway. I stepped towards the door, and somebody dragged me back to my bed.

"Oh no you don't." The doctor said, forcing me onto the bed. I tried to get up. He punched me. I fell back. "You're staying there until you're well."

"Then why did you punch me if I'm not well?" I asked him.

"Because I can do as I bloody well like!" The doctor shouted. This guy clearly was not sociable in anyway, shape or form.

"Could you at least get me a television?" I requested politely.

"No! What am I, your slave?" He said. He walked away. I waited until he was gone, and walked down to the arena.

**Xiaoyu's POV**

The blood pumped to my ears as I looked across the arena to observe my opponent in full. I recognised the bangs, the dark, emotionless face, the lack of pity. I moaned.

"Jin?" I asked. He nodded simply. I sighed. "Why do I have do face you?"

"There are some things we don't want to do." He said. He slowly cast his gaze over the crowd like a searchlight. He looked to J. So did I. He looked as if he was ready to burst a blood vessel. "You really should take up my words and give in during your revenge filled quest." Jin warned J.

"Why are you after him?" Came the snarling, deadly reply, each word tipped with hate. Jin had no reply. "Exactly." J said. "Don't throw glass in a stone house."

"It's the other way around." Jin corrected him.

"Shut up! You're not the sharpest light bulb in the picnic basket." J said.

"You're drunk." Jin said. "Again." J made an open fist gesture and shook it sideways. Jin ignored the gesture and turned to me. "Now, Xiaoyu. I'm sorry, but I will defeat you." The words he spoke stung.

"I'm here to save your life!" I retorted, not forgetting Henry Ford's words sending themselves into me bullet by bullet.

_If you don't want to do this, then that's fine, though if you want to leave this building safe in the knowledge I won't send C, S, J and W after your Kazama friend, I'd suggest you reconsider, and, by the way, it won't be a kidnapping._

I refused to let that happen to Jin. I had came to save him, and if I had to defeat him to do so, that's what I'll do. Jin sighed tiredly.

"Don't think I'll regret this." He said, taking up his stance. I was surprised. It had changed. I took up my own. I had fought him before, but only in training back when I lived with him and Heihachi. If his style's changed, I'll have to push myself to the limits to win. The announcer grabbed a large stick and hit the plane. However, he wasn't in view to the audience, so everyone, including Jin, looked around confusedly. The announcer tried again. No reaction other than perplexed mumblings.

"Oh get the fuck on with it!" The announcer shouted. And thus the fight ensued. I had let myself get distracted by Jin's face and his hardened expression and didn't concentrate on where his arms where. His left fist smashed into my jaw. Before I could recover, his right threw itself into my left side. I screamed in pain, the agony flowing through my veins. He didn't stop, however, as another merciless fist came down upon my head. Which fist it was, I couldn't tell. I didn't care. All that mattered was that it hurt. I looked up to Jin. He looked uncaring. He wanted to win, I know, but he could at least have some form of difficultly fighting his best friend. I gave my most powerful punch, my Bayonet, and forced him back. However, I didn't want to hurt him too much, and it barely knocked him over. In fact, he merely came back with a deadly kick. I was flung onto the floor.

"Give up." Jin said. I shook my head, but I certainly considered taking up the offer. The pain racked up, and a reluctant fighter simply won't win. I stood up, only to be knocked down again. I stayed down as Jin got closer. My vision began to blur due to the tears covering my eyes. I only just notice J stand up.

"What the hell, Kazama?!" He said. Jin looked to him.

"It's not your fight." He said emotionlessly.

"It's not a fight at all!" J persisted. "What chance are you giving her?"

"None, as all good fighters do." Jin replied, this time turning to him. I realised my chance, and kicked out. He was surprised, and was thrown back onto the floor. I used this time to get up and wipe my eyes. I smiled to J. He smiled back. He pointed to Jin. I turned around. A punch just missed my face as I dodged. I looked to Jin's face. The eyes were a fire, the face of anger, the mouth in a snarl. It hurt to see Jin like this, because of me. It clearly hurt too much. I let myself get attacked again, and again and again. Kick, punch, kick, kick, punch... they slowly lost all form of feeling. All I felt was numbness and pain all over. All that were left were my thoughts, screaming out.

_Why is he doing this to me?_

I only just noticed the misplaced foot. I went for it, before he hit me down. I realised then, it was a trick. A trap. I looked up as Jin towered over me. I cursed myself silently. I was always going to lose. To be let down. To see him die.

_And it's all my fault. My fault because I wasn't strong enough. Not strong enough to defeat the very man I had come to save._

I looked away from his face, desperate not to see his pitiless eyes bore into me. I looked to J. I had failed, despite his efforts. I must've disappointed him. I looked to W. His attention was on a small fly, which he watched carefully before it went into his eye. I looked to the left of him to see, walking around the corner, S. I stopped breathing. He had gotten out of his hospital bed just to watch my match.

_Just to watch my failure._

_NO!_

I lashed out my leg at Jin, whose face was scarred by the kick. I got up, ramming my shoulder into him. He stumbled back underneath me, despite his weight, and was at the mercy of my double fists. I punched him twice and elbowed to the side of his head. A knock out blow. He slipped into unconsciousness. I stood slowly, realising the horrible thing I had done. I helped to pull Jin up.

**Fritz's POV**

I had only just got back to watch the match from the shadows. I knew exactly what had won Xiaoyu the match. It was Takeshi. Her love for him... I doubt she truly knew how she herself felt, but it seemed to give her strength. I wasn't a martial artist, but I knew when somebody was going to lose, and Xiaoyu had about as much chance as a cream slice. Less, in fact. At least cream slices aren't reluctant to fight Jin, nor are they taken aback whenever their supposed love's fist ruptured their pastry. I looked to my Wolfram PP7. It was black as hell. Black as pain.

_Black as my insides._

I knew the plan Benni had formed would never pay off. It was basically postponing what Mr Drive could bring down on us all. I looked to Liz. I sighed. I was dragging her into my world. We had a little agreement. We had our own world separate to the Force, but now...

... Now what?

I envied her. I envied Benni. I envied Xiaoyu, and Takeshi, and Bill. They were ignorant to what was going on around our ears. Mr Drive's scheming deeds. His relentless plans. His inevitable wrath. They weren't worried. For all they knew, it would work, and then they'd go home, not to be pursued. From what I had seen, from what I had heard, it would never end. This wasn't the end. We were marching to our deaths armed with morals and fear.

That's what he always had over me. Mr Drive didn't have a code to stick by. No life to live. No secrets to shield. His weapon was a cold deadly sword. A sword made of death, of pain, of malice. A heart of stone and a fist of steel. I looked back to the ones I was so desperate to save. It looked so easy to simply shrug off all fears at a whim, or even to have no fears of any kind. I was simply turning into a faceless actor, pretending to be optimistic, happy and joyful. All that there was of me now was black. My core was now dust. I had transformed myself from a lover into a shell. Nothing is left. And what it does. It blinds, it scratches, it destroys... it...

... hurts.

I walked away from the cheer. I slowly pulled myself from the almost painful merriment of my fellow man. A hand rested itself on my shoulder. I turned. Liz stood there.

"I don't know what's wrong with you, but I know we'll sort it out." She said comfortingly. I smiled back.

"We won't." I said. "But thank you for hoping. It's all that's left of me." I continued on my way, passing Bill, who appeared to be constructing an eye patch out of a crushed Coca Cola, elastic bands and confetti. I decided not to ask why.

--

I see a ship in the harbour  
I can and shall obey  
But if it wasn't for your misfortunes  
I'd be a heavenly person today

And I thought I was mistaken  
And I thought I heard you speak  
Tell me how do I feel  
Tell me now how should I feel

Blue Monday - New Order

--

**I don't why I used Blue Monday for the song. I suppose it's because... no, wait... ok, I have no reason to have used that song. Oh well. Read and review, please.**


	13. We always falter at the first step

**Hey ho. Another chapter. I dedicate this chapter to EVERYONE because I'm feeling really really nice today. No song. I think that's what annoyed the admin last time (not sure why, though)**

* * *

Chapter 13 – We always falter at the first step

The Next Day

09:13

**Benni's POV**

I woke up to the sound of vigorous moans. Moans of a girl. I was sure I was still dreaming until I noticed nobody underneath me. The world was a blur after all the alcohol I had consumed the previous night. The headache that ran through my head smashed into me like a crossbow bolt. I looked up to the door with one weary eye. Fritz walked in,

"How's Liz?" I asked immediately.

"She's fine. I've just given her a good..." Fritz said, before pausing. "...breakfast."

"It sounded nice." I raised my eyebrow, followed by the rest of my body. The feeling that came usually with a hangover pierced my skull. It felt like a taint. Fritz walked over.

"It's your match today. You know. The one we planned." Fritz whispered.

"I know perfectly well." I said. "What's the time?" Fritz looked over.

"Quarter past nine." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"I've got ages." I said. Fritz looked to me.

"An hour and three quarters?" He asked quizzically.

"An hour and three quarters to shake off this hangover." I replied. "Have fun when I'm gone." With that I walked out the door. I had only just reached the lift at the end of the corridor when I heard Liz moan Fritz's name. I rolled my eyes at their keenness... and wished silently that a girl would say my name like that. Nobody had loved me before, and it made me envious to see other happy couples together in some form of romance. I pressed to the side of the lift doors and walked in.

10:20

The mild chill that hung in the air clung to my clenched fists and weary face. I was still undecided on how we were supposed to escape Mr Drive's wrath. It wouldn't take long before he found out. I refused to let Xiaoyu die, but then Fritz, Liz and I would be on the verge of death. The situation wasn't good. Wrapped in my thoughts, I only just noticed as Takeshi bumped into me as he ran. He fell onto the floor. Instead of picking him up, I observed him. Something about him struck me as unusual. Nothing seemed out the ordinary. Then I noticed something.

"Have you had a shower?" I asked. He nodded. I looked to the object he held in his hand. A small rose. I smirked. "Who's the unlucky broad?" Takeshi ground a small bit of gravel in his other hand.

"Xiaoyu." He mumbled, almost so I couldn't hear him.

"Who?" I asked him again, though I already knew.

"Xiaoyu." He said again. I raised my eyebrow in mocking sarcasm, yet actually, I was sorrowful. Another pair of lovers to go and leave me in the pit. "It's not like that." Takeshi tried to explain. "I was going to congratulate her on winning."

"With a rose?" I asked. Takeshi blushed.

"She likes them." He said. I decided to try and dismiss it. It was simply another foot to crush the wilting plant that is my life. Parents dead, sister at risk, promises broke, lovers ignoring me. All that was left was keeping Liz safe...

_And if I couldn't do that..._

I shook away the thoughts and walked on, intentionally stepping on the rose, mostly to irritate Takeshi than anything. If I were to win against Liz, I had to know I'd win, which I fucking well better. Or we'd all fall, and everything would be ruined.

11:00

I got there on the dot, the sun high in the sky pounding against my skin, the sand creeping through the seams in my shoes and burning my feet. The beach's waters sloshed slowly my way. They slowly whipped themselves around my feet. The water was cold. I looked to the other side of the beach. I noticed two forms on the ground, in a tender hug. I observed closer. It was Liz and Fritz, toying with each other's hair, caught in a loving embrace, connecting lips. I scowled that the two. The romance sickened me deeply. I gestured to Bill to pluck them apart so we could have our fight. He started to walk over, but every time, his tremendous weight sank into the sand. He slowly but surely sank to knee level. He looked unfazed, but now could not move. He simply fell asleep there and then. I rolled my eyes and walked over to the couple.

"You've gotten into trouble having sex live before. Don't do it again." I said to them. Fritz pulled his lips away.

"Go fuck yourself." He said. "I'll fuck your sister for you."

"Sure." I said. "After I win." Liz laughed.

"Not happening, bro." She said. "I've got reasons of my own."

"Like what?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. Fritz and Liz looked to each other.

"Do you want to tell him, or me?" She asked him. I rolled my eyes.

"You're not getting married." I said angrily. "Not a hope."

"If you win, I can't pay for the ring." Liz said. "It's on." She walked over to her corner. I scowled. An opponent fuelled by love would be hard to stop. I'd have to push myself to the limit to win. The bell struck, and my blades slashed out to the girl I promised to protect.

**Liz's POV**

The slash pierced my flesh, and the sting of a snake bite rushed across my chest. I fell to the floor in shock and pain. The blades he used were the blades of our mother's, and this was the first time I felt the cold metal. I looked to the blade itself. A small slit across the top of the blade held a bubble of blood, and the metal itself dripped the taster. It was a warm-up strike, and dear god it burned. My brother knew what he was doing. He gave me no time to recover. His blades forced themselves towards me. I deflected the first two attacks, and the next, and four after. Then the eighth fired itself into the inside of my elbow, and felt the skin. I screamed in pain. Benni smiled.

"Too much for you?" He asked. Whatever he wanted to win for, he was serious about it. I sent my blade into the one he had left out. Spinning it, I pulled myself up using his own arm, and smashed him back with the hilt.

"Time for the finisher." I said while he staggered back. I raised my right blade, and dropped it because of the searing throbbing within the elbow. It had stopped me from moving it to my ability. I'd have to focus on my left. I then realised Benni's tactic. He was left-handed. It would be his strongest side.

_Refuse a flank._

An age-old Greek military tactic. Focus all power on the left side. I barely stopped his blade as it flung towards me. I swung my left hand around instantaneously. It was useless with out its blade, but I could use it as a weapon. The balled fist smacked first long into Benni's face. Benni was flung across the water. I stopped when I heard Xiaoyu gasp in horror. I turned to her. Her eyes held so much hurt. I felt guilty. Did I really need to press so hard to win?

Before I could answer myself, Benni struck out. His blade scraped its way across my back, quickly and efficiently. The pain was fire, the shock like ice. The attack was hard hitting. I dropped to my knees. The stinging water washed over my now warm and raw red knees. The water around me started to turn red with crimson. I looked to my chest. The first strike left a great gash, and the blood trickled down my back. I looked up. Benni didn't look any better. I didn't know I had scarred his face with that punch, but the fresh blood dripped down to conjoin with mine. He raised his foot to my level.

"No." I pleaded as he pulled his leg back like a bow string. His eyes held no mercy. Then I noticed a glint on the water. My blade! I decided to use the initiative. His leg came to my face. I rolled out of its way. The pain was ignored as my hand clasped the blade. I stood up. The clanging of metal, the hiss of air being cut, and his blade was there to. His face close to mine. He flicked the blades out of my hand, high into the air. He looked up slightly to see their path, and I struck out. Two kicks, two punches, two elbows. He didn't even have time to block. I caught my falling blades and sent my blades whistling around. He fell back. I slowly fell to the floor. I looked to the announcing board.

_**Alizee Julius V **__**'J' - Alizee Julius Wins**_

I knew I had done enough to win, and I fell into unconsciousness.

**Fritz's POV**

I slowly ran over to the two. I picked up Liz's limp body. A smile crept across her face. I felt as if I could do nothing _other _than smile. She had lost. The plan had failed. We always falter at the first step, it seemed. I looked to my right. Xiaoyu tried shaking Benni awake.

"J!" She screamed, as if he were dead. I sighed. If only Benni were to see this. A vibrating in my pocket told me somebody was calling. I answered it.

"The stupid broad win, did she?" The cold, calm, emotionless voice asked.

"Mr Drive, you unscrupulous bastard!" I hissed.

"Mind your language." The sadistic, patronising reply came. "Want to hear the plan?" It was now I realised that all the events would now rest on my shoulders. I could say no. I could stop it now. Xiaoyu wouldn't have to die.

_You're about to marry Liz._

"Tell me everything." I sighed, feeling defeated. For the first time I could ever remember, I started to weep.

**Bill's POV**

Can't get out of ground.

Errr...

Damn.

* * *

**Well, I've got this re-posted, and at bloody long last. Got to say thanks to the following people (I'd say this at the end normally, but shut up!)**

**Razer Athane: First person to review this story, which is awesome. She's also very much into my one-shots (at least, I think so)She's favourited all of them other than... ermm... take that back, she's favourited all of them. This means a lot more than I'd probably like to admit, mainly because I like to make myself as a form of God, possibly of bubblewrap or biscuits or toasters or something else nobody wants to be God of, though the point is that it's awesome to know. Thumbs up to you.**

**SeungSeiRan: Very probably the reason I actually started writing any of my one-shots. She's awesome at those. She also favourited me as an author, something which really made my day. Thumbs up to you.**

**Angellic Hellraiser: I know she hasn't actually reviewed this story yet, but apperently she's trying to get through it, and she's always reviewing my one-shots pretty much now. Thumbs up to you.**

**xgarbagex: (I don't know their gender, so I'll just say 'they' when reffering to them) One of the first people to review anything by me. They've also added me as a favourite author, along with putting my first fic, Exodus, as a favourite story. That was cool. I'm not sure if they've reviewed anything else, as far as I know, but I think they have. Thumbs up to you.**

**FreakyArtist: Literally, _the _first person to review anything by me. When I read the review for Exodus, I just simply read it over and over again. I know it sounds kind of pathetic to base yourself on reviews, but it meant a lot to me. Seriously, it did. Thumbs up to you.**

**I think that's about it. Thumbs up to you all. 'till next time.**


	14. Eyes of a Killer

**Hey ho. Can't really say much on this chapter. More humour based than the one before.This isn't actually a new chapter.The last chapter got removed by the admin,but this didn't... err...Read and review. **

War is overdue  
The time has come for you  
To shoot your leaders down  
Join forces underground

Lose control  
With increasing pace  
Warped and bewitched  
Intend to erase  
Whatever they say  
These people out torn  
A wild and bereft  
Assassin is born (yeah)

Assassin – Muse

* * *

Chapter 14 - Eyes of a Killer

22:09

**Benni's POV**

I watched as Liz walked over to the centre of the steam filled lab. She had taken a lot of damage, but so had I. Mentally as well as physically. I had failed. Fucking failed. We both knew where Fritz was. At the arena of his fight. But out of us two, only I knew the reason for it. I shook my head in remorse slightly, and then looked up to notice Liz smile at me.

"Sorry about beating you. I knew you had a good reason, but..." She looked to the floor.

"It's alright." I stopped her, thinking it was everything but alright. I looked to her opponent, and my heart faced with fear.

**Xiaoyu's POV**

The small parking area underneath the Zaibatsu Main Building was cold, dark and gloomy, the only light shining from the shopping area. I waited for my opponent, whoever he was, to show up. I turned to see a fancy Ford car pull up next to me. Out of the driver's seat stepped W. I was shocked to see him drive, let alone see him at all. He walked to the door at the back. He looked to the door handle.

"Errr..." He contemplated how to open it, before simply smashing it off completely. The door fell of its hinges. The sound echoed, followed by the sound of footsteps, and my gasp.

"Mr Ford, sir." I stuttered, bowing in respect. Henry sighed and put his head in one of his hands. He aimed a small pistol at Bill and fired. Bill fell to the floor. I looked to Bill, and then to him.

"Tranquilisers." He said, but it wasn't Henry Ford's voice. It had lost that Oxford English accent, and replaced it with one more familiar.

"C." I snarled. The blood pumped to my ears. He had lied. They had all lied. Heihachi had lied. S, J, W, Liz, they had all lied.

"Call me Fritz." C or 'Fritz' said. "And I'm sorry."

"For lying?!" I shouted.

"No." Fritz said. He threw away the tranquiliser pistol and pulled out another, more lethal pistol, black as night, and as enchanting as magic. "For this." With that, his finger tightened on the trigger.

**Benni's POV**

No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, anybody but him.

"Hello again, Julius." Kazuya said calmly.

"You fucking bastard!" I shouted. Rage took over, and I ran to him, but he simply batted me away with a back fist. It was a lot stronger than before. I was thrown into the steel walls. Kazuya smiled and turned to Liz.

"Ahh, this must be your sister. I've been looking forward to meeting her." He said, walking over.

"Back off!" I shouted, trying to stand up. I couldn't. I fell back to the floor. Kazuya smiled.

No." He said simply. "This is my fight, and I shall fight it. We can deal with this little feud later."

"I won't let you hurt her!" I shouted, before falling to the floor. It had only taken one strike, and I lapsed into unconsciousness.

**Mr Drive's POV**

The reflexes of the girl were fast. Faster than the finger pulling the trigger. Without hesitation, she leaped out the way. Fritz didn't even fire. He knew well enough not to waste bullets. He turned his pistol around, but she was faster than him. She knocked the gun out of his hand, and threw herself over him, stomping on his shoulder. He fell to his knees. I pressed the intercom.

"Kill them. Kill them both." I said to the Tekken Force soldiers at the van only a mile away.

"Yes sir." Came the reply. The sound of an engine being turned on, and the roar of the mechanics. Then an odd clanging.

"Why did you hit that dustbin?" Came an old voice. A younger voice replied.

"Because I wanted to." He said. A slapping noise, a police siren, the screech of brakes.

"You idiot." The old man said. I placed my head in my hands.

**Xiaoyu's POV**

Fritz went down easier than I had expected. He simply fell to the floor with the attack. He grunted, and rolled along the ground painfully. I decided not to give him the chance to get up. Refusing to make the same mistake as Takeshi, I sent my foot into Fritz's side. He growled in pain. A shimmer of metal, and his small throwing knife grazed my shin. I screamed in pain. Fritz got up, and was on the offensive again. A punch to the cheek stopped me flat. He then grabbed my collar and pressed his thumb into the base of my neck. It slowly forced me to the floor. He had pulled out yet another silenced pistol. He must have come prepared. He noticed my look to it.

"It's an AAC Phoenix .22. A silencer system constructed on a stainless steel Ruger MK II." Fritz stated simply. He stopped to chuckle. "I was thinking of getting you a gun after all this. A sort of, apology, if you like." He cocked the pistol. "No point now." He pointed it right to my eye. The gun was silver and the hole was blacker than dark. It was mesmerising. I almost forgot this would kill me. I was hypnotised. Then something came to kill me, and unwittingly saved my life.

"Shit." Fritz said when he looked to the door as a Tekken Force van pulled up. Fritz turned to them. He seemed to completely abandon me as he fired a shot to the shutters. They came down like a portcullis. The Force got out of their truck and, armed with sub machine guns, let the bullets fly. I took refuge behind a column of stone and marble. The ricochet of lead smashed throughout the parking lot. I looked to Fritz. He had gotten behind a column of his own, and was firing bullets back. I looked to the Force. He had taken down six, but more vans pulled up, and for every Fritz took down, another two came.

I curled up into a ball and hoped. That was all I could do, other than cry. I did. I burst into tears, screaming for help.

"Oh shut the fuck up you fucking stupid fucking bitch fucking fuckity fuck fucker!" Fritz shouted, before continuing the merciless violence. I looked to him.

"What?!" I shouted. I decided to be angry. It would distract me from the horror around me.

"You heard me!" Fritz shouted back. Hot lead flew in-between us as we argued.

"You won't talk to me that way again!" I shouted.

"Or what?!" Fritz said, taking time to stop the gun fight.

"Calm down!" I shouted. "Or don't let it out on me!"

"I'm in a gun fight. I think that qualifies as a stressful situation!" Fritz retorted angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I don't have a gun, but that must mean that I can't do anything to help!" I screamed back. Fritz pulled out yet another silenced pistol. Gibbs, how many guns did this guy carry around? He skirted it across the floor to me. I picked it up. It felt heavy and cold in my hand, and I wondered if I could really take a life, or even hold such an instrument of evil.

"Make yourself useful!" Fritz shouted, before letting his pistol let rip once more. I made an impulsive decision and followed suit. The bullet smashed into the chest of one of the men. I felt the bullet myself. The shock of killing a man was too much to bear. I dropped my pistol and wept. I had ashamed myself and my morals by taking a life. I looked to Fritz. I looked into his eyes. Where once was a mocking cynicism, now was there no emotions whatsoever. It slowly dawned on me. This man was made to kill. As soon as this gun battle was over, he'd kill me too. It was amazing to see the change in him. Humanity left him, leaving a cold discipline that would match a Spartan. I bit my lip, and took a quick look. At least forty men were blazing their firearms. I didn't know what to do.

_What would S or J do?_

I bowed my head slightly. I was still undecided. I was sure my heart was for Jin, but that match... showed me something. He didn't care. He was like... like...

... like Fritz. Or, at least, Fritz as he was now. Trained, austere, unwavering, relentless. Such power was held in his eyes. Whereas S and J... they cared. They were caring. They defended me from the blows, from the offence, from the anger. What would they do?

_They'd do what they could._

I kissed my clenched fist, wrapped around the clip, and, eyes tearful, turned back, washing out all feeling, and started to empty the magazine.

**Benni's POV**

I woke up, watching as the smoke consumed my body. I got up slowly. I looked around the laboratory. Nobody else was inside. I walked out of the door, fearing the worst. My qualms were confirmed by Kazuya smiling against the door.

"How is defeat?" He asked. "Does it sting more when you know you didn't lose?" I didn't care what I was doing. I attempted to stab him. I wanted to smash his fucking skull. Break his fucking bones. Anything. My hand was stopped by his. He threw it away.

"What did you do to her?" I snarled. Kazuya smiled.

"She's a great fighter. Better than you." He lifted up his grey shirt, and the fresh wounds were all over him. His body had holes, scars and gashes so deep, I was sure she had ripped a piece out of him. "She's alive. But your friends may not be for too long." I grabbed his collar and pulled him closer than ever.

"No matter where you are, or how long it is before then, or even how much stronger you are then, next time we meet you will die." I said. He smiled.

"And your parents will be proud of this?" He asked. I stopped. He had struck a chord. He pressed on, seeing a weakness. "Would they really want you gallivanting on vengeance when your main concern should be your sister?" Each word stung, but it made my resolve only stronger.

"This isn't for them." I spat. I walked to the lift and pressed for the ground floor. "This is for me." The doors closed slowly and I descended to the ground floor.

**Fritz's POV**

The exchange of fire was tiring and painful. The more I killed, the more came. Having two of us firing was making no difference. I soon was out of bullets. I sighed. I looked to Xiaoyu.

"I'm out!" I shouted. She looked annoyed.

"Me too!" She dropped the pistol. I decided to come out and say it.

"I didn't want to kill you!" I shouted. She glared to me. "It was for Liz!" The glower wavered slightly. She bowed her head. "What the hell are you doing?!" I asked.

"Praying." She answered, speaking instead. I barely heard her. I thought she had gone strange.

"You think anything divine can save us now?" I asked. She smiled to me.

"Who said divine?" She asked me. She rolled over to Bill's body. The dangerous fire around her made her look stupider than before. The bullets came closer and closer. She placed her hand on Bill's neck. Somehow, and I don't know how, he slowly got up. Xiaoyu pulled him closer to us. She turned to Bill. "Can you fight them?" Bill looked around the column.

"Yeah." He said. She clicked her fingers. He stood to attention, and walked over to them. It was something out of an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Every bullet went past him as he walked over. I shook my head.

"I don't believe it." I said. I looked to the girl who had saved my life. "How did you do that?" I asked her. She smiled.

"I know a bit of stuff." She said. I looked into her eyes. A first kill. She had tasted it. There are three kinds of people who can kill. Reluctantly, and they regret it, and never want to do so again. Then there are others, who forget it. Thinking for the safety of them and their loved ones. I fit neatly into this category. And finally, the people who share Mr Drive's sadist qualities. I looked to the eyes of this girl, and despite the weird pink fetish, the flowery, bubbly attitude, the kind smile, the loving eyes, those eyes hid a dark secret. The taste of blood on her lips was soothing. "By the way... about my gun..." She lifted it up to my forehead. "I hadn't run out." She said. "I didn't want you to kill me afterwards." Fear took over me. I was frozen, as she tightened her grip. Her eyes held no humour, or indeed want. She was doing this not for fun, but for survival.

"Goodbye." I said. I grabbed the hand, and kicked her chest. She gasped breathlessly. She fell to the floor, and I stood over her. "...and sorry." I said.

"Can I ask you one thing?" She said suddenly.

"What?" I asked. She gulped.

"What were their names?" She asked. I felt a great weight. I felt guilty, disgusted, and weary. I almost fell apart, dropped the gun and walked away... then I remembered. She had the pistol I held to my head. I pointed it to her eye. A clean kill. Painless and instant.

"Takeshi, Benni and William." I said. Then my killing was interrupted. I turned to the sound of the engine, expecting another Force van. It was Benni. He didn't look happy.

"It's Liz." He said simply. My love destroyed my hatred at once. I dropped the gun. The impact on the floor caused it to fire. Benni grabbed his shin and fell to the floor.

"OH FUCK!" He screamed in pain. I looked to the security camera. It was ruined and shattered, possibly during the fight. I looked to Benni's car. I threw caution to the wind and drove away. Benni's curses were ignored.

I got to the hospital not too long afterwards. I looked to the emergency ward.

"Alizee Julius!" I shouted to the doctor. He looked to me.

"Odd name for a man." He commented. I rolled my eyes.

"No, _where _is Alizee Julius?" I asked. He seemed to realise. He told me the ward number. I ran up the stairs, past the receptionist, stopping only to punch a poster for Westlife. I got to the ward, walked in; saw Liz's limp, lifeless body connected to the life support...

And my entire world fell apart.

* * *

Aim, shoot, kill your leaders,  
Aim, shoot, kill...

Oppose and disagree  
Destroy Demonocracy

Lose control  
With increasing pace  
Warped and bewitched  
Intend to erase  
Whatever they say  
These people out torn  
A wild and bereft  
Assassin is born (yeah)

* * *

Assassin - Muse

* * *

**I personally think we're coming towards the end of this story. But don't worry/cheer/put down your crap-writing-umbrellas yet. There's going to be a sequel, showing that you can't keep a good ship down, but the bad ship will probably crush it when it comes back for more. Read and tell me how sexy I am, or simply review if you want.**


	15. Endure

**Hey ho. The next chapter's going to be the last one, so that might take a while to do. Anyway, enjoy this one. The song is My Iron Lung by Radiohead. I chose it because the first verse sums up Xiaoyu's feelings in this chapter. Read and review.**

---

Faith, you're driving me away  
You do it everyday  
You don't mean it  
But it hurts like hell

My Iron Lung by Radiohead

---

Chapter 15 - Endure

12:52

**Benni's POV**

"So, let me get this straight." Mr Drive said. The hospital room, other than me, Mr Drive, Fritz and a bed ridden, motionless Liz, was empty. "You went to assist Coster..."

"Yes." I said.

"... to see him get knocked out and Xiaoyu then shot you in the leg..."

"Yes."

"... and drove away in your car..."

"Yes."

"... which is outside of this hospital right now?" Mr Drive asked me. My throat encountered a lump. My story had hit a snag. I decided to flow with it.

"Yes." I said. Mr Drive opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He simply looked confused. Finally he said:

"Can I trust you to kill her?" He asked me. I nodded.

"Yeah." I said. Mr Drive started to walk away. He then turned around.

"You fail, and I cut off the power to this disease ridden pit." He said. My jaw dropped out of place in pure shock.

"You're going to kill everybody in this hospital..." I said slowly.

"Should give the nurses time to dust." He brushed up some dust of an old machine in the corner and looked to his finger in disgust. He picked up a nearby inhaler, wiped the finger on the lip and placed it back. He gave a humourless laugh and left. I couldn't believe it. I had always known he was evil, but that bordered on the edge of psychosis.

"Don't look so surprised." Fritz's voice muttered. I turned to him. He sat down on a plastic chair. The light radiating from the rest of the room kindly gave him privacy. I didn't even speak. I knew what his response would be. I walked to the door myself. I looked around for any sign for Mr Drive. He wasn't there. I looked to the ward next door. I opened the door. Xiaoyu was biting her nails in fear.

"It's ok." I said to her. She looked to me.

"Thank you." She said calmly. He stood up and started to walk past me. I stopped her by the forearm. She looked to me.

"Where're you going?" I asked her. She scowled.

"To fight Kazuya." She said. "To do what I stopped Jin doing." I looked to the floor.  
"I'm sorry." I said. "But I can't let you." With that, an elbow to the head brought her to the floor. She fell asleep instantly. "I'm so sorry." I repeated myself. Because I was sorry. I was sorry that I had dragged her into everything.

_If I had simply killed Kazuya at that G Corporation building._

Anybody else would say not to blame themselves. Say that they were simply events that would happen anyway. But no. Benni knew it wouldn't of happened either way. I remembered Kazuya's words that day.

_Many brave men have fought me, and none have managed to get so far with stopping me. Well done._

Well done for failing. Well done for weakness. Well done for fault. I picked the poor girl and lifted her onto my shoulder. I walked to my hotel room to keep her safe. The next day would be her escape...

**Fritz's POV**

Watching a motionless object can be boring. Watching a motionless person can be odd. Watching a motionless person who you love...

That is pure devastation.

Liz was simply a useless shell here. Her energy had now all gone. My life felt like a waste. I had loved her more than anything, and it always hurt to be away from her, but it was only now I knew what it truly meant to be completely alone. The silence was disturbed by a scraping chair. I looked up. It was an angst-filled, whiny teenager with hair that makes him look even more like a dick.

"My apologies." Jin said. I scowled to him.

"What do you want, Kazama?" I asked him.

"Nothing." He said. "Other than to offer my sympathy."

"That'll bring her back." I retorted. I hated people trying to comfort me. Only Liz could do that. It was like a sort of special thing between us.

"You can only blame yourself." Jin said. I looked up into his eyes. "If you hadn't told Xiaoyu to defeat me, then I could've stopped Kazuya."

"This is sympathy?" I asked him. Jin nodded.

"Knowledge soothes." He said.

"So does chocolate, and that isn't a flopping pretence of pity." I replied. Jin sighed.

"You can't take orders from my grandfather any more, you do realise." He said. "It's crumbling you from within. Turning you into a shell. Turning you into an uncaring emotionless body. The perfect killer. Can't you see what Mr Drive is doing?" Suddenly, my mobile phone vibrated. I looked to it.

"Orders." I said. "From Mr Drive."

"You saw what the last order did!" Jin scowled. "Stop them! Defeat them!"

"I will." I muttered. "After this mission..."

"What? Kidnap another innocent?!" Jin asked angrily.

"No." I looked to him. My heart roared with hatred. "Kidnap you." I clicked my fingers. Bill walked in. Jin laughed. It was unreal, short and humourless.

"You think this ape can defeat me? I beat him last time." Jin asked me.

"Apes have a tendency to learn quickly." I replied. I nodded to Bill. He looked fascinated by a small mark on the floor that wasn't really in any shape. He looked up to me.

"Yeah?" He said bewildered. I pointed to Jin.

"Knock him out." I said. Jin was on his feet straight away. Bill simply stood up in no hurry. As if he would be. Jin attempted to take the initiative with a double strike followed by a kick to the right of Bill's side. However, Bill blocked every attack with one hand. Jin stepped back as Bill moved on. Jin attacked again, this time with a fury of four punches, all in quick succession. Bill didn't block any of them, though he didn't even move. Jin screamed in pain.

"Right." He said. He pulled his whole body back. Bill remained on the defensive. Jin sent his right fist towards Bill. Suddenly, Bill's eyes looked up, and without even looking to the offending fist, he swung his whole body around. Jin's fist met thin air. Bill's foot met Jin's face. Pleasantries were ignored. Jin landed on the floor, bleeding and bruised. I looked to Bill in shock. Ever had one of those moments where everything you know is suddenly turned upside down? This was one of those moments. Maybe there was more to Bill than met the eye...

Jin got up as soon as he had fallen. He swung his whole body around, left arm outstretched. That fist would be like a hammer. Bill's cranium was smacked into by the fist. A horrible cracking noise, followed by a painful grunt. However, it wasn't from Bill.

"ARGH!" Jin shouted. Bill stood strong. I smiled. Jin had lost the initiative. With that broken hand, his left flank was now vulnerable, and his ego more so. Bill didn't even give Jin time to hesitate. A double jab, followed by an almighty destructive shoulder charge, and Jin was thrown into the wall. Blood was all over the floor. In a hospital ward, it's a worrying sight. Jin got up one last time. He simply placed his fist back and closed his eyes.

"This is for Xiaoyu." He whispered. His arm seemed to create its own atmosphere of anger. It literally flew towards Bill. I thought he was dead. The fist came closer and closer. Then Bill put his hand out. Jin's body had been moving with his fist, and his head collided with Bill's hand. He fell to the floor, this time, completely unconscious. I looked to Bill in awe.

"Where'd you learn to do all that?" I asked him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"A book." He said.

"You can read?" I asked him.

"Can I?" Bill looked more surprised at the prospect than me. I sighed.

"Take him to the Honmaru." I told him. He was unresponsive. "Well, I knew this would happen." I said, pulling out a small piece of paper out of my pocket. "So I brought a map." I gave it to him. He walked away. I looked back to Liz. I knew she wouldn't be smiling, but she couldn't frown if she wanted to.

"I had too." I told her. "Simple as."

01:42

**Xiaoyu's POV**

I woke up to the stench of whiskey. I looked around the dark apartment. Nothing was in it. Nothing to leave tracks. J was clearly a professional when it came to kidnappings. That's the second time it's happened, though this time it was for the best, I suppose. Apparently, Kazuya's dangerous. And, I thought, if I can't fight him, and Fritz, that madman, can't either, then Jin will, and he'll get the chance he'll missed. I turned on the television.

"... and Jin Kazama hadn't turned up either, so the winner by default is Kazuya Mishima."

"Ah shit." I muttered. Then I realised what I had said. Fritz had taught me some coarse language. Jinrei would be so disappointed with me. Then I remembered what this meant. Jin was missing. I thought desperately. Who would know where Jin was? "There's only one person who would." I said to myself. Fritz. I was scared, though. He had shot me once in the foot, came close to shooting me again, this time far more lethally, and now I would be on his hit list.

_What would Jin..._

Did I care what Jin would do anymore? He was my friend. I had done all this to save him. And how had he repaid me?

"_Don't think I'll regret this." _

"_Give up."_

"_What chance are you giving her?" "None, as all good fighters do." _

I wanted to help him, but I was ripping my own world apart for his sake. And he... he... he was fucking everything up. Everything I did, everything I do, everything I sought to do, he simply took it and threw it in my face. What would...

_What would S or J do?_

They would... they would endure it. They endured me. They endured Fritz. They endured defeat, injury and injury for my sake. Why could I not do the same for Jin?

_Because... my heart wouldn't be with it._

I shook that thought away. I wouldn't let myself give up on him. I looked to the window. I tried to open it. Didn't work. I looked around the room. I then saw something. On a coat hanger. A holster. I picked the gun out of it. It was lighter than the gun I had used in that parking area. It was sleek, silver, light. I felt an overcoming whelm of awe at this weapon. This beauty, shining like a bright star in the night sky, was in fact an instrument of death. I looked to the side inscription. It was a Berretta Tomcat. I aimed for the window, and fired one shot. The effect was clean. I hadn't even known it was silenced. I placed it back and ran to confront my greatest fear, Fritz, the Spartan killer.

**Fritz's POV**

To look to Liz's motionless body in the hospital bed shattered a window within me. I looked to the hospital room. Everything that could be coloured was black, as was the room. I looked back to Liz. Her body was still. I placed my hand upon her cheek. The cold rushed through my hand like a whirlwind. The face was warm, but her life... no. I listened to the pace maker, the bleep-voice angel that told me she was still alive. The rate had increased, but only slightly. I sighed and took my hand off the cheek, and started to walk away. The sounds slowed. I looked back. Her cheek, her battered, grey, lifeless cheek, breathed the tinge of red. It slowly died away, going back to the grey. I ran to her and placed my hands on her face. The blips in the otherwise silent room burst into a frenzy of beats. I caressed her lips with my own. No response in terms of motion, but the beats of the sound pounded like a snare drum. I let myself go. I knew that Kazuya was responsible for this horror. And for what? A family matter? Revenge? Sheer fun? I didn't care. He had to suffer.

I walked out of the hospital. I had left a note saying that I'd be back to Liz in case she woke up. As I walked out, I felt the tingling I got on the back of my neck. An unwanted presence. I turned around.

"I don't think you should leave your girlfriend alone." Mr Drive said, his loathsome SV-98 slung over his shoulder, his eyes gleaming with malice. "Now, about your destination, I'm afraid we need Kazuya ali..." Here, I stopped him. I punched him cleanly and efficiently. A knock out punch to the temple, and he slumped to the floor.

"Dog." I murmured, and I continued on my way, only stopping to piss on his motionless body.

---

My brain says I'm receiving pain  
A lack of oxygen  
From my life support  
My iron lung

My Iron Lung by Radiohead

---

**Hopefully, that's good enough build up to the ending. Don't worry. There will be a sequel. I've got it half planned out. I know the beginning, I know the end... just to connect them up... hmmm... (Throwing darts at a dartboard with a load of storylines stuck on) Xiaoyu's grows an extra arm! (Writes it down eagerly) I've finally thought of a name for it. A Volley of Bullets, which is sort of ironic in a hand to hand combat tournament... (Throws more darts at the dartboard) Also, in my profile, there should be a poll for who you want Xiaoyu to end up with (yes, it might happen, God help us all). Anyways, read and worship me for the god I am (reviewing will be sufficient.)**


	16. True Loyalty

**Hey ho. Finally, the end is in sight. Personally, I'm thinking 'Thank god'. Not because I didn't enjoy writing it. It's just that I've got other projects to do, and it'll give me more time to do them not having to think about this, as fun as it was. Anyway, here it gets quite gory in my opinion. I was in a bad mood during the writing phase, due to coursework. Also, I cut corners. So, hey ho, expect the finale to be the writing equivalent of boredom. The song is because it sums up the last few moments well, I think. So, yeah. Please don't read and review, though I expect you will anyway...**

**---**

I can't remember anything.

Can't tell if this is true or a dream.

Deep down inside I feel to scream.

This terrible silence stops me.

Now that the war is through with me.

I'm waking up, I can not see.

That there is not much left in me.

Nothing is real but pain now.

One – Metallica

**---**

Chapter 16 - True Loyalty

01:42

**Benni's POV**

I waited outside my hotel room. I didn't want to disturb Xiaoyu. I didn't want to upset her. She had been through a lot. I couldn't pressure her with getting away from Japan. Now after all I had put her through. The tournament, the lies, knocking her out... however, I decided, it had to be done. I opened the door, to see the room was completely empty...

... and the window was shattered.

**Fritz's POV**

Heihachi and Kazuya wondered through the forest to the centre of the Zaibatsu. I waited there to ambush Kazuya. After what he did to Liz, he _had_ to suffer. Not just the fight, but the death of her parents. I waited longer and longer, but before I could attack, a small hand I instantaneously recognised touched my shoulder.

"What?" I hissed to Xiaoyu.

"Where's Jin?" She asked angrily.

"Pipe down." I said, pulling out my Waltker PP9 and aiming for Kazuya. Xiaoyu persisted with her questions.

"Where is he?" She asked. I clasped my hand over her mouth.

"I tell you when I'm not busy." I hissed, and turned back to my target, but he, along with his father, had disappeared. I snarled. I grabbed the hilt of my pistol and smacked Xiaoyu with it. She went out like a light. "That should keep you busy." With that, I guessed where Kazuya had gone to and walked off to the Honmaru...

About five minutes later

**Benni's POV**

Takeshi, Bill and I looked through the forest. She had run off trying to find Jin three hours ago and still she hadn't returned. Takeshi seemed very passionate about finding her. He looked like a wreck, and I knew why. I knew why because I felt the same way. I just didn't make it so blatant. Bill was here for seemingly no reason. I guess it was ironic that the one who doesn't seem to care was the one to find her. This doesn't make me lucky in any way, shape or form. Her motionless body felt out of place amongst the wildlife of the forest. It seemed like her life had drained away. I squatted beside her. Takeshi grabbed her head.

"Xiao!" He shook her. I sighed.

"She's not going to get up for a few minutes." I said. "And I know who did it."

"Who?" Takeshi asked me desperately.

"Fritz, though I think it's for the best." I stood up. "Because he's going to get himself killed unless I can stop him." With that, I ran off, knowing that if Fritz died, Liz would never be happy again.

And I would have failed my parents.

**Fritz's POV**

The fog surrounded the building like a shroud. I ran through it and into the Honmaru. My progress was interrupted by Heihachi, who skirted across the floor and smashed into my legs, sending my face smashing onto the floor. Kazuya laughed.

"What's the matter? Didn't your precious science give you all the answers about my power?" Kazuya said, and then he noticed me. I looked to his eyes, and was surprised to find them glowing red. However, I wasn't to be put off my goal. "You again?" He asked me. "What do you want?"

"I want to see you squirm." I said, raising my Berretta and firing three shots. Two to the chest and one to the head. The most common way to deal with a person, and by far the most effective. However, some horrible turn of events, the bullets didn't even make contact with Kazuya. The eyes shone, and the bullets thudded on the floor. I dropped my Berretta. Even I knew when I was outmatched... or, considering the fact I was stupid enough to throw a rock that was in my pocket at him, I wasn't. It bounced harmlessly off his head. He picked it up and threw it back. It was a rock the size of my fist, but the return throw felt like a bullet. I fell to the floor. I looked up to the set of feet I landed before. Benni bent down. I expected something nice, or comforting, or even friendly.

"You fucking idiot." He said. So much for that. He looked back up to the source of all his answers. Kazuya smiled.

"I wondered when you'd arrive. I'll finally deal with you, and I'll have what I need at last."

"Wait." Benni shouted. "Tell me what Genocell is!" He shouted. Kazuya scowled.

"How'd you..." Then he stopped. "Fine. I will tell you. Genocell is what your parents died for, what I search for, the only thing standing in my way. And you will give me it. And I will destroy it. "Twenty years ago, I was defeated by my father, and was thrown into the mouth of a volcano. Somehow, I survived, though I was weak. The G Corporation brought me back from the brink." He paused to note the reaction. "I wanted to defeat Heihachi desperately. I, along with the G Corporation, looked into my genome. A special genome. If I told you what it was, you wouldn't believe me, but it's irrelevant to what you want to know anyway." Kazuya stopped for a breath.

"Finish your words." Benni snarled. "They'll be your last."

"The point is that we needed some way to investigate the genome safely, for it was unstable. Your father made Genocell, a material that could suppress the genome for a small amount of time. We asked him for as much as we needed, and he supplied. However, soon it became apparent that we'd need to make some of our own. We asked your father were to find it, and he didn't tell us. It became perceptible that he wouldn't tell us, so, as you know, we killed him. The wreckage was scanned the next day. We found and recovered his files. It turned out the main ingredients were easy to obtain, but something was now impossible. Do you know what it was?" Kazuya asked mockingly.

"Get to the fucking point." Benni said, taking in the information. "You're taking longer to explain this than Alan Rickman takes to have a death scene."

"It was blood." Kazuya continued. "Special blood. Blood unseen before. The blood of him, and his children. However, he had been killed, as had his family... we made a substitute, but it wasn't as powerful, or as useful... and now we have that blood." Kazuya turned back to me. "You're lucky I didn't kill Alizee. I would have done in other circumstances, but we have a... personal need for vengeance." Kazuya turned fully on to attack. "Let me show you the imprudence of your want of retribution."

"Let's dance!" Benni shouted, and they ran to each other.

**Takeshi's POV**

I was still by Xiaoyu's side, disturbed by Benni's disappearance. However, I would not abandon Xiaoyu. I never would. I looked to the skies. Why would Fritz do something like this? What was his plan? What was he after? I looked to Xiaoyu. I saw her slowly open her eyes. She smiled.

"Hey." She said simply.

"Hey." I replied. Then she said something that I never expected.

"Are you Takeshi, Bill or Benni?" She asked. My eyes widened.

"How'd you..."

"Fritz... told me..." She said before I could finish. She pulled off my handkerchief. "Takeshi?" She guessed.

"Yeah." I nodded. "W's Bill and Benni, or S, has ran off to follow C." I looked back to Xiaoyu. "What happened?" I asked.

"I found out you weren't working for Henry Ford." She said.

"How?" I asked.

"Fritz tried to kill me in our match..." She said. A fire rushed to my face.

"Damn! He said he wouldn't. Though I won't let him try again! Or succeed!" I swore to her. Xiaoyu smiled weakly, then continued.

"Benni stopped him when he told him about Liz... and now something's happened to Jin, and I want to get the truth out of Fritz..." She said. Her determination made me sad, though I didn't show it. She mustn't know how I feel. I helped her onto her feet, and she, Bill and I went to the Honmaru to find Jin, the man who was going to break her heart, over and over again.

And I'd be left to brush up the pieces, hiding the shards of my own heart.

**Fritz's POV**

A shower of scarlet spilled upon the ground. I was amazed by Benni's speed, more so than Kazuya, whose blood flew high above him. Benni hadn't even drawn his blades until the microsecond he needed to. The crimson rain gave in to its love for ground, and fell. Kazuya looked to Benni in anger. My mouth dropped open in horror. So did Benni's. A great bleeding gash on his cheek, exposing the contents of the head for all to see. The muscle, the bone, the blood. Gore seeped out the great chasm wound. Benni was even more surprised to get hit back. He was sent through the air into the wooden door.

"You'll have to try harder to beat me!" Kazuya mocked Benni, who slowly rose from the wood ruin. He smiled.

"There's a Batman villain who looks a _lot _like you." He replied, every word lashed with venom. Kazuya tried to scowl, but with his mouth in the state it was, he could only manage a frown and a stupid flop of an angry face.

"Let's see you laugh now!" He shouted. The flurry of fists struck themselves in Benni's direction. I wanted to watch more, but a dangerous hand clamped onto my shoulder.

"You..." Jin hissed with hatred. "Your ape won't save you now." Fear clogged my throat. I couldn't breathe. Something told me that I wouldn't last this night. I needed a miracle. I didn't get it. Jin plucked me up and threw me across the floor. Right under Kazuya's foot. Kazuya had been going to kick Benni, and I tripped him up. He collapsed onto me. His reaction to look at me up close scared the shit out of me. The familiar wet feeling in my pants told me this in a more literal sense.

"Oh sweet Nelly!" I screamed in disgust. I forced him off me, to notice the glint of Benni's knife plunge itself into my shoulder, where Kazuya had been. I screamed. "I'M SO BAD AT THIS!" I rolled away, screaming in pain. Benni didn't even look bothered. He was after Kazuya. Nothing would deter him. So Jin was my responsibility. Ignoring the agony, I slowly drew my Waltker PP7. It could do nothing now. It was bent out of shape. I threw it at Jin. It slowed him down. I looked through my pockets for anything to throw. I found the last thing I expected. A Polaroid. Thinking quickly, I slashed Jin's shin, the paper cut showing itself. Jin hissed in pain, and clutched the leg. It gave me time. I rolled out of the way, only to have somebody stand on me. It was Heihachi.

"Time to give up your power, boy." He said, taking up his stance. His leg and my pelvis met, and his foot was on the upper hand. He waited for Jin to attack, making the pain more unbearable for me. Only when he took his foot away did I feel some form of relief. I sighed in relief. Then looked to the Polaroid.

It was Liz. And me. Naked. In a loving embrace. Smiling. When was the last time I had done that? Dark surrounded us, so we must've been drunk at the time. Red writing surrounded it. In my handwriting.

_Marry me, you sarcy bitch._

Ok, I definitely _was_ drunk. It was quite obvious. I had spelt 'saucy' with an R, and the writing wasn't in ink, but in sweet and sour sauce. But however, despite the grammar errors and the smell of Chinese takeaways, something hit home for me.

_None of this really mattered in my life._

I had always thought the Zaibatsu dominated my life. I thought it clung onto me, and love was something to come after as the reward. But no. On missions, all I could think of was the next time I'd see Liz, and now everything had fallen apart.

_Because of my stupidity. Everything's now my fault. Nothing can be done now. Other than to fight my way out. And then..._

_I'll marry Liz. I'll buy a house. I'll have kids. She will be with me all the way, I know. This horrible chapter will pass into mere memory, and we'll live a happy life, a peaceful life, suffer a peaceful death and permanently live together in the stars. It has to happen now. I must make it TRUE!_

I looked up to the Hon Maru. plenty had changed. I must've been thinking for a lot longer than I had thought. Jin was no longer there, and Heihachi was on the floor, unconscious. I looked around. No light was on. I stood up. The moonlight shone through a hole in the roof. I looked to it.

"What the fuck?" I asked myself. Then I shook myself sober. No matter. I looked for Benni. Didn't take long. I could see nothing past a circle of light, but the flying knife flying through the air landing at my feet was very obvious, as was the rest of Benni. He looked a mess. A whole rib had penetrated his flesh, poking out like a diamond in a sea of treacle. I looked above him. Kazuya looked even was. The cut on his face was miniscule to those on his chest. His sweat was tainted with the gore, creating the illusion of him bleeding all over. He raised his fist. I ran myself into him. Kazuya bowled over. He thumped onto the ground. The fight had weakened him. I turned to Benni.

"We have to go!" I said. Benni shook his head.

"Vengeance is all I have now." He said, standing again.

"What about Liz?" I asked. "Xiaoyu? Me?"

"Want for revenge is all I crave now." Benni replied. "It's a drug for me. As soon as he dies, I'll simply wilt away, and I'll rejoin with my parents." Then I realised what he was saying.

"You're not..." I mouthed. "No, no, you can't!" I shouted. Blood pumped to my ears. "This is just being selfish! YOU CAN'T COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER ALL THIS! AFTER ALL WE'VE DONE FOR YOU! HOW WILL LIZ SURVIVE?!"

"She has you!" Benni shouted. The sternness in his voice stopped me. A silence, followed by Kazuya standing up.

"And I have you too, Julius..." He said, smiling. He raised his fist. Then he stopped. He looked up. So did Benni and I. Together the three of us looked to a small helicopter, making its noisy across the night sky. A small projectile is fired, and lands itself in the Hon Maru. We look to it.

The timer goes to zero.

And the inferno takes all feeling from me, leaving cold in its wake.

**Takeshi's POV**

We only got to a clearing in the forest, to see the Honmaru engulf itself in flames. Shrapnel flew from the wreckage in the guise of burning stars, rushing to the sky. We could only look on. Xiaoyu's lips mouthed silently and my eyes widened. Bill looked on emotionlessly, as if nothing were happening. I could only watch on as the burning flames lit up the sky. Xiaoyu leaned on my shoulders and cried. Little did I know, but I was crying too. For her loss. I knew she had loved Jin, and I loved her. She must never know, I decided. For the sake of her feelings, and her mind, she must never know. I didn't even notice the helicopter until it had landed behind us. I looked. It was Yoshimitsu.

"You three! Get on!" He shouted. I decided to trust him, and helped the weeping Xiaoyu on. Bill didn't even move.

"Leave him." I said. "He'll be fine." I turned to him. "Goodbye!" I shouted. No reaction came from his blank face. He simply dropped to the floor and fell asleep.

The Next Day

The Honmaru Wreckage Site

06:23

**Mr Drive's POV**

I walked across the charred, grey pit that was once Honmaru. I looked around for Fritz, or Kazuya, or indeed anyone. I cocked back my SV-98.

"Come on, Fritz. Be nice." I said calmly, awaiting some form of movement. A small rustle. I turned to the source and aimed. Just a rat. I smiled, and fired. The effect of the blood flinging itself over the atmosphere was amusing to watch. I then noticed what the rat was carrying. It was a diamond. Small. Shining purple. I picked it up. A small sting hit my finger. I had foolishly cut myself. I looked to the cut. Or, at least I would if there was one. It had vanished. I was confused. I held the diamond. I deliberately cut myself across the hand. A line of blood was created. I expected that, and it hurt badly. But then the line sank itself back. The wound had healed perfectly. Then karma kicked me in the balls, when a voice sounded behind me.

"I see you are interested in my product." A soft, reluctant voice spoke. I whirled around. And stepped back. The first thing that struck me about the man was his size. This guy could challenge a lamppost in terms of height. It was as if somebody had trained a hippo to pass as a human. And then I saw the hair. There's enough there to fill a rug. And he looked stupidly old. I decided to spare no manners.

"Shouldn't you be in a home?" I asked. The man chuckled.

"I find your humour amusing." He said. "However, that can wait. I can see your sins, and they are plentiful... and disgusting." I guessed whoever he was, he was off his head. I pointed my SV-98 and fired. Two to the chest, one to the head. The perfect killing. However, the man stood still. He didn't even look hurt. In fact, he looked... remorseful.

"Bullets." He pulled out one of the shells. "I wish this could hurt me still." He threw it away. I wondered what I had let myself into. "Now, I need your co-operation."

"With what?" I asked. The man sighed.

"Something inside me is eating its way out. I need help. Somebody has to kill me." He said. "One with a fist of steel. The greatest fighter on Earth. And I need to find him."

"How're you supposed to do that?" I asked the old bugger.

"Another King of Iron Fist." He said simply. I was taken aback.

"How'd you know about that?" I asked it.

"I was there before the original." He explained. He muttered to himself: "My son's idea of loyalty is pathetic."

"What do you mean by that?!" I asked. "Tell me or I'll blow you to Kingdom Come!" I raised my gun. He grabbed it.

"I can't be killed by guns. Why use this?" He said, bending it and throwing it away like a broken toy. I looked to him in horror. "You're only loyal to yourself and what's good for you." He smiled. His right eyes glinted black. I realised he wasn't human. "Let's teach you _true_ loyalty." With this, he plunged his hand into my chest. I felt the pain rip through me. As soon as he had punched, he pulled out again, heart in hand. He grabbed the diamond I was holding and replaced the heart. I felt nothing there. A hole. "That will keep you alive."

"What the hell have you done to me?" I snarled. The pain was consuming me. I felt nothing else. It was like a festering cancer. The man laughed.

"You can reclaim your heart after this business." He said. "You are to be my representative and my aid." He said, his voice coated with determination. "Do you know what loyalty is now?" He asked. I nodded. "Come." He said simply. I followed like a slave on a chain to do his evil plans.

---

Darkness imprisoning me.

All that I see.

Absolute horror.

I can not live.

I can not die.

Trapped in my body,

my holding cell.

One by Metallica

---

**Yes, now how could we follow that up? With a crappy sequel of course! If American Pie has taught us anything, it's that shit sells, and the more retarded sequels, the better! Seriously, the only example I can think of when the sequels improve on the original is The Dark Knight, which is easily the best film of the year (though Bond gave it a good run for its money). The sequel to this story will probably be called 'A Volley of Bullets' which is a stupid name if the fighting is all hand to hand, but shut up, it sounds good. Also, my poll has finally showed its no good face on my profile, so have a look. So, anyway, thank you to the following people:**

**Razer Athane: Thanks so much for reviewing. T'was awesome. I would carry on praising you, but then I remember back to Chapter Whatever and know I'd just be repeating myself. Although, seriously, thanks a bundle. I know she'll be glad to see Mr Drive get his commupence (however you spell it). Apparently, she thinks he's quite evil in Chpater 12 or 11 or 13 or 67, and wants to throw a bent spoon at his head. I may include that in the sequel just for you. Thumbs up to you.**

**SeungSeiRan: Thanks for all the reviews. It made me happy to know she was upset about this nearing its end, and that's not because I love causing pain (well... only **_**slightly)**_ **It meant that this story would be missed, which means a load. Oh, and thanks for the favourite story was-it-ma-thingy. Thumbs up to you.**

**Leonard: He doesn't exist. Ignore that.**

**Angelic Hellraiser: Yes. She hasn't reviewed many of this story yet, but oh well, she's got through the first chapter, so I'll mention her out of pure politeness, though I'm glad she likes it, and she's added me as a favourite author, so that was cool. Thumbs up to you.**

**FreakyArtist: Thanks for reviewing. However, I'm slightly worried about you. Here's why:**

'_**i just love him (Fritz)...i've decided his my future hubby'**_

**Yeah... Ok then... (cough, cough) weird... anyway, thanks. Thumbs up to you.**

**Raidenlover6: Shit, almost forgot to thanks to you. I'm really am glad that you reviewed. Thumbs up to you.**

**I know other people will review, especially after I become the most evil dictator known to mankind and force everyone to read it in-between digging in my mines looking for Nazi gold, so I'll simply edit this whenever somebody else reviews, and to those who have, thank you again (god, I sound like I'm at an award ceremony. Jesus Christ, soon I'll be thanking my local barber for giving me a Hitler- style haircut. Not really. Though apparently I do look a lot like him, so that's very worrying). Most of all, though, I'll have to say thank you, to myself. I've been brilliant to myself all the way through. I would not have made it without me. Thank you, me.**

**Oh, don't worry, me. It was nothing, really. And also, the people above made a much larger contribution... mainly monetary. Oh, you didn't know? As soon as you clicked on the name, I got a link to your bank accounts. I'm slowly extracted ALL OF YOUR POSSESSIONS! BUAH HA HA HA!!! (Runs away, and is never seen again...)**


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